:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mentormedier/6ZBMEJD3CRHMNCK5XO7VGRVSQ4.jpg "– Donald Trump is the only one who can find a way out – Dagsavisen")
Viktor Orban hopes the United States will make what he believes is a sensible choice – choosing Trump as president instead of Joe Biden – when voters go to the polls on November 5.
He points to the war in Ukraine as an example of why.
– In the situation we are in now, those involved will not find a way out of this conflict. Only a new “player” can find the way out. One who comes in from the outside. In fact, the war broke out since Trump was not president, Orban said at an economic forum in Budapest on Monday.
Reuters news agency, the Russian state news agency Tass and Russia’s state broadcaster RT is among those who have also mentioned the matter. The Hungarian government has referred to Orban’s statements on its websites.
– “Obviously” that Russia is winning the war
The Prime Minister believes that the only chance for a “relatively quick peace” between Russia and Ukraine is a political change in the US, and that it is now “obvious” that the West will not win what has become a proxy war in Ukraine.
– Unfortunately, several countries in Western Europe believe that time is on the West’s side, and that things can improve the longer the war lasts. Hungary is one of the few countries that sees this differently, he said, adding that Hungary does not want to cut the economic relations it has with Russia. He also said that he hopes a peace agreement can be reached soon, with the United States‘ help.
Researcher Karsten Friis at the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (Nupi) follows developments in Ukraine, NATO and the USA closely, and has read the statements from the Prime Minister of Hungary.
– I don’t know what Orban means, but here he is probably also flirting with Donald Trump. The only thing Trump can do is stop supporting Ukraine, nothing more. The war does not end there. So then we get a world where Vladimir Putin’s terrorist regime gets to come forward and threaten us all. Not cheerfully, warns Friis to Dagsavisen.
Arguing in Europe
Viktor Orban has repeatedly put sticks in the wheels of the EU’s support for Ukraine. Tobias Schumacher, professor of European studies at NTNU, has previously stated to Dagsavisen that Orban has often taken the role of the one who spoils the EU’s foreign policy plans.
Karsten Friis believes Orban’s analysis of the war in Ukraine is ideologically colored.
– Because of course the West can push Russia back into Ukraine – if there is a will to do so. The total GDP is many times greater than Russia’s. But of course, if Donald Trump wins in the US and the Europeans continue to argue – instead of coming together on a strategy – Orban could be right, explains the Nupi researcher.
The absence of a unified European leadership, that national narrow and short-term interests often trump the long-term interests and values, can be a serious problem for Europe, he says.
Orban’s recent statements join the series of previous Trump-friendly statements from the Hungarian.
“Trump is the only man who can save the Western world,” Orban said in an interview with controversial Tucker Carlson that was published on X/formerly Twitter this fall.
– Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a great man. He is a great leader in Europe. He is a very strong man, Trump acknowledged during a campaign rally in New Hampshire in January.
Also read: “Norwegian” John wants McConnell’s top job in the Senate
The relationship between Orban and Trump
Dagsavisen has previously discussed the relationship between the Hungarian prime minister and Trump.
– Viktor Orban is a greater role model for Trumpists than Ronald Reagan (former president of the USA, editor’s note). They are going to a conference in Budapest, and Orban is speaking at the conservative CPAC conference in the US, professor and US expert Hilmar Mjelde told Dagsavisen recently.
The professor points to similarities between the two.
– Both Trump and Orban are typical right-wing radicals. Both are populists, have authoritarian tendencies and stand for an exclusionary nationalism, he explained.
– For Trump himself, Orban’s authoritarian features are what appeal. Trump admires so-called “strongmen” who rule at will, Mjelde added.
Read also: Predicts conflict between Russia and NATO if Ukraine loses the war
Also read: Orban’s comment about Trump received thunderous applause
Read also: The handshake that creates reactions: – I don’t want an iron blanket
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Facts about Viktor Orban
- Hungarian politician (60). Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002 and since 2010. Re-elected for his fourth term in 2022.
- Graduated in law from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.
- Born 31 May 1963. Married, five children.
- Started his political career as a student leader in the anti-communist demonstrations in 1989.
- Founded the right-wing populist and national conservative party Fidesz in 1988 and has led the party since.
- In the 2010 elections, Fidesz won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, which gave the party the power to carry out constitutional amendments.
- The opposition has accused Orban of undermining democracy through a series of controversial legislative changes.
- Orban’s government has also often been in conflict with the EU.
(Source: NTB)
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