US Secretary of StateMarco Rubiohailed Viktor Orban’s leadership during a visit to Budapest on Monday, ahead of elections threatening the nationalist prime minister’s hold on power.
Rubio’s visit is the final stage of a whirlwind trip to Europe that also saw him address the Munich Security Conference and visit another right-wing ally, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.
US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his high regard for Orban, saying in a social media post on Friday that the prime minister had produced “phenomenal” results in Hungary.
But Orban, 62, has a fight on his hands for the April 12 legislative elections in Hungary. Polls suggest his Fidesz party is trailing opposition leader Peter Magyar’s TISZA.
“I can say to you with confidence that President Trump is deeply committed to your success because your success is our success,” Rubio said during a joint press conference with Orban after their meeting.
“The president has an extraordinarily close relationship to the prime minister, he does, and it has had tangible benefits,” he said.
Orban said the government “will be created after the election in Hungary based on the intention of the Hungarians.”
“Sometimes I lose, sometimes I win,” said Orban, who returned to power in 2010.
“So don’t be afraid what will be if we are not winning because it’s regularly happened here,” he added.
In a speech on Saturday, Orban insisted he would keep up his fight against “pseudo-civil organisations, bought journalists, judges, politicians” — echoing similar Trump tirades in the United States.
Source: Insider Paper
