Vance explained the U.S. decision to support Orbán despite the risk of defeat
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance stated that the U.S. administration deliberately supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during the parliamentary elections, even though it was aware of the high likelihood of his defeat.
He made these remarks in an interview with Fox News.
According to Vance, Orbán is one of the few European leaders willing to openly stand up to the “Brussels bureaucracy,” which, in his view, harms U.S. interests.
“We, of course, knew there was a very high probability that Viktor would lose this election. We did this because he is one of the few European leaders we’ve seen who is willing to stand up to the Brussels bureaucracy, which has been very, very harmful to the United States. So, for example, when you see a European bureaucrat attacking an American company, sometimes the only voice “against” it, the only voice defending those American interests, was Viktor Orbán,” Vance said.
He also emphasized that the trip to Budapest was the “right” move and had nothing to do with either Russia or pan-European politics.
“We went because it was the right thing to do—to support a person who has supported us for a very long time. So this had nothing to do with Russia, and, in fact, it had nothing to do with Europe. It had to do with the United States and the fact that he has been a good partner both for me and for the president personally, as well as for the United States,” the U.S. vice president explained.
Vance also expressed regret over the Fidesz party’s defeat in the elections, but assured that the United States would continue to cooperate with Hungary’s new government.
Prior to this, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán acknowledged his Fidesz party’s defeat in his first public address following the parliamentary elections.
International observers noted high voter turnout in Hungary’s parliamentary elections, but stated that candidates did not have equal opportunities due to systemic advantages enjoyed by the ruling party. However, this did not help the party.
As a reminder, according to the results of 98.93% of the votes counted, the “Tisa” party received 69.35% of the vote. This gives the opposition 138 seats in parliament, allowing it to form a constitutional majority on its own.
