Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has slammed Europe in an election speech on his country’s Revolution Day.
A Martinez, Host:
People took to the streets in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Sunday to support two candidates vying to lead the country. One strongman is Viktor Orbán, who is running for a fifth consecutive term in next month’s election. Another is trying to end his rule. The Associated Press estimated that tens of thousands of people attended. And NPR’s Rob Schmitz joins us now to talk about this. So, Rab, Orban’s election victories are not really close. So how likely are they to lose this time?
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Yes. They are not close, but polls this time show Orbán facing his first real challenge to his authority in his 15 years in power. Opposition candidate Peter Magyar is leading by double digits. Yesterday, Orban called Magyar a puppet of Brussels, the seat of the European Union and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Here’s what Orban had to say.
(soundbite of archived recording)
PRIME MINISTER VICTOR ORBAN: (Speaking Hungarian).
SCHMITZ: And, A, he says here, “It’s impossible to know the day or the hour when the first soldier from Brussels will set foot on Ukrainian soil. But we know one thing for sure. It will happen, and we have to stay out of it. And I,” Orban told his supporters, “will defend Hungary as a peaceful island.”
Martinez: Right. So Orbán seems to be equating the EU and Ukraine with war and portraying himself as a leader of peace.
SCHMITZ: Exactly. And it is worth pointing out here that Viktor Orbán is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is close to President Trump and has a long-standing feud with Zelensky because, as an EU member, Hungary voted against it through Orban and was able to withhold crucial military aid to Ukraine. They accuse Zelensky of refusing to fix an oil pipeline connecting Russia to Hungary and passing through Ukraine. Ukraine says the pipeline was damaged by Russian airstrikes.
MARTENEZ: And Orbán’s challenger, Peter Magyar, 44, got a much bigger crowd.
SCHMITZ: Absolutely. Although Magyar originally came from Orbán’s right-wing Fidesz party, he managed to unite the parties to oppose the Orbán regime. Here is an excerpt from Magyar’s speech.
(soundbite of archived recording)
Peter Magyar: (speaking Hungarian).
SCHMITZ: And he’s telling his supporters here, “If we join forces, we can not only change an era, but build a new one, build a quieter, better and more humane country,” he said, “that we will finally not have to fear, not only manage to survive, but can thrive in peace.” Now, Magyar says his party will prevent rampant corruption under Orbán. He said he would unlock billions of euros in frozen EU funds to boost the economy. That funding was frozen because of Orbán’s crackdown on democracy. And Magyar said he would anchor Hungary firmly in the EU and NATO, and that would represent a big change for Europe.
MARTENEZ: That’s NPR’s Rob Schmitz. Rob, thanks.
SCHMITZ: Thank you.
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