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Exclusive: Hungary’s PM and EU’s most isolated leader says he is pursuing ‘friendship with everybody’ – particularly the former US presidentEurope’s most isolated leader was beaming.Standing in a hallway in Brussels, Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, spoke excitedly about the politician he hopes will change his political fortunes – Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Péter Magyar building centrist movement that has visibly shaken ruling party he dramatically broke withA political newcomer who is causing headaches for Hungary’s government has said his experience as a regime insider can help him succeed where other opposition figures have failed, citing his “crazy” rise in the polls and “vision” as signs that change is possible.Fourteen years after the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor...

For Swedes it means a dramatic change of national identity, while the alliance gets greater control of the Baltic SeaJust a few short months ago, Sweden’s Nato membership seemed a very long way from being a done deal. Having submitted its application to join in May 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it seemed at times as though Stockholm might be left hanging interminably....

Beijing’s move comes at a time when Budapest’s relationship with its EU and Nato allies is at a low pointChina has offered to deepen security cooperation with Hungary, underscoring Budapest’s warming ties with Beijing just as Hungarian officials snubbed a visiting delegation from Washington.Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, met China’s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, on Friday. Continue reading...

President’s resignation shines light on gap between government’s behaviour and rhetoric as country prepares for local and European electionsA scandal rocking Hungarian politics is exposing Viktor Orbán’s vulnerabilities and testing his opposition as the country prepares for local and European elections in June.The Hungarian prime minister has been spending a significant amount of time travelling the globe in a quest to build up an...

Member states hope to persuade Hungary to remove its block on funding at Brussels emergency summitEU leaders have returned to Brussels for a second showdown in two months with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán over his refusal to sanction a new €50bn assistance package for Ukraine.A mixture of frustration and anger prevailed in the city as leaders arrived for dinner on Wednesday night on the eve...

Hungarian ambassador summoned amid national uproar at treatment of Ilaria Salis, accused of attacking neo-NazisItaly’s government has said that authorities in Hungary went “too far” in putting in chains an Italian woman who is awaiting trial for allegedly attacking neo-Nazis.Italian ministers summoned Budapest’s ambassador in protest on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Hungarian PM met a who’s who of rightwing leaders on his travels in 2023, as critics point to failures at homeEurope’s pariah prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is jetting across the globe in search of friends.Hungary, an EU and Nato member that has been backsliding on democratic norms for more than a decade, has become even more isolated in the western club over the past...