An independent analyst on the PM’s address

A well-known political scientist suggests that Mr Orbán’s words should be read as a hint that he intends to be less confrontational with Hungary’s Western allies.

In an interview with Info Radio, political scientist Gábor Török singles out several sentences in the Prime Minister’s ’State of the Nation’ address as indicating that Mr Orbán is planning a shift in his strategic position within the Western alliance. The independent analyst concedes that the speech contained several critical remarks about the allies, mainly concerning the war in Ukraine and the pressure Washington and Brussels put on the Hungarian government. What he finds new, however, are Mr Orbán’s resolute words about the full consensus with Hungary’s allies over strategic issues, namely ensuring that Russia should not represent a threat to Europe and the need for a large independent Ukraine dividing Russia from the rest of the continent. Török suggests that the Prime Minister has realised how difficult it will be for Hungary to defend its own interests unless he defuses the suspicion that his government takes the Russian side in international affairs.

Tags: foreign affairs, Orbán