In an increasingly tense atmosphere of accusations and suspicions, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched a frontal attack on the leadership of the European Union. His statements, published in X, have the tone of an open challenge aimed above all at the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyenand so on Manfred Weberleader of the European People’s Party (EPP). Orbán accuses them of having «openly declared their intention to overthrow the Hungarian government» to establish a «Jawohl government», a critical and ironic expression that alludes to a possible Hungarian leadership totally subordinated to the will of the European Union: a provocation that suggests the intention to replace him with politicians who are more compliant towards Brussels.
For Orbánthe European leaders have already identified who should succeed him. «The European Socialists would like to delegate Klára Dobrev (MEP), while the EPP focuses on the Tisza party with Peter Magyar», said the prime minister, describing this coalition as a “marriage” celebrated before his eyes, with von der Leyen in the role of civil status officer e Weber as a witness. The reply of Magyar was not long in coming: in a post on Facebook, she rejected Orbán’s narrative as a “farce”, declaring that “the Tisza party has always rejected any external influence” and promising that “together with millions of Hungarians, we will replace the government Orbán at our house”.
Tisza has indeed emerged as a significant opposition force and one of the main rivals of Orbán’s government. Founded recently, the party quickly gained support, reaching almost 30% of the vote in the 2024 European elections. Magyarformer ally and now critic of Orbánbecame an MEP affiliated with the EPP, in contrast to the Eurosceptic line of the Hungarian Prime Minister. As reported by Telex, Tisza is based on democratic values and promotes a “third political force” which, in their opinion, could “free Hungary” from the influence of the “state mafia” built around Fidesz, the party led by Orbán.
During the usual Friday morning radio appointment on Kossuth Rádió, Orbán spoke of an alleged “bloodlust” among his critics in the European Parliament: “Those who gathered were bloodthirsty and had no desire to engage in a meaningful debate, but they had imagined a political brawl and came straight against us. When you have ten people coming at you, it’s rock’n’roll. And this was truly rock’n’roll” he said, referring to the aggressive attitude of those present.
Tensions rose further after the intervention of von der Leyen to the European Parliament, which he criticized Orbán for his relationships with Putin and for having made, in his opinion, the country vulnerable to foreign interference. Addressing the Hungarian prime minister directly, the president of the Commission asked him if “he would ever blame the Hungarians for the Soviet invasion of 1956”. The words of von der Leyen were welcomed with applause from the pro-European factions, supporters of integration between member states. Orbánvisibly annoyed, replied that “it is not right to discuss these differences when we are talking here about the presidency of the Council of the EU”.
As confrontation with the EU intensifies, Orbán strengthened its international presence by traveling yesterday to Georgia, where it expressed support for the governing party, accused by the opposition of electoral manipulation and pro-Russian positions. Declaring that “the elections in Georgia were free and democratic,” Orbán praised Georgians for “not allowing their country to become a second Ukraine” and criticized Western pressure. In stark contrast, the EU has denounced possible Russian interference, raising new doubts about the sympathies of Orbán towards Russia of Putin.
