Is Hungary Leaving the EU? Orban’s Shocking Warning Ahead of April Elections
Viktor Orban escalates his anti-Brussels rhetoric, comparing the EU to the Soviet Union while trailing in the polls ahead of Hungary's upcoming elections.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban intensified his confrontation with Brussels ahead of April elections, declaring the European Union poses a greater danger to his country's sovereignty than Russia.
Speaking at a campaign rally with less than eight weeks before the April 12 vote, Orban drew a stark comparison between EU influence and Hungary's 40-year Soviet occupation in the 20th century. He described the bloc as "a machine of repression operating within the country."
The prime minister dismissed concerns about Russian President Vladimir Putin as overblown. "Those who value freedom should not fear the East, but rather the immediate and tangible danger posed by Brussels," he told supporters.
Orban has maintained relatively close ties with Moscow while opposing military and financial support for Ukraine, straining relations with EU and NATO partners. He credited U.S. President Donald Trump with empowering nationalist governments and helping Hungary resist what he called foreign pressure.
The rhetoric comes as Orban faces his most serious electoral challenge in years. Independent polls show his Fidesz party trailing the center-right Tisza party led by Peter Magyar, who has pledged to restore relations with Western allies and address Hungary's economic slowdown.
Orban has characterized the opposition as instruments of Brussels seeking to install leadership that will follow EU directives without question. The election is widely viewed as a referendum on his 16-year tenure and his model of illiberal democracy, which critics say has eroded rule of law and isolated Hungary from European partners.