Europe's future on the ballot? Hungary's Orban in tight re-election race

About this episode

The episode discusses Hungary's upcoming general election and the implications of Viktor Orban's populist rule amidst US political involvement.

Is Europe’s future on the ballot in Hungary? In Budapest, the US vice president is actively stumping for far-right incumbent Viktor Orban who trails in the polls ahead of Sunday’s general election. European politicians sometimes campaign for likeminded peers from neighbouring nations, but in this case, it is the United States openly taking aim at the bloc using the same talking points as Vladimir Putin’s Russia. We talk about whether JD Vance’s support helps or hurts Orban in the homestretch of a race where the 62-year-old populist has made a point of holding up the European Union’s €90 billion loan to Ukraine. We also take a look at Orban's strategy and the opposition's claim that the prime minister attempted a false flag operation in neighbouring Serbia. More broadly, we assess how the nation of 9.5 million has fared under Orban’s 16-year rule. How has pushing Hungary as the avant garde of a white Christian anti-woke, anti-immigrant alliance served Hungary? And what is the opposition offering instead? Produced by François Picard, Théophile Vareille, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente

People in this episode

Hosts: François Picard, Théophile Vareille, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente

Topics covered

• Hungary's election
• Viktor Orban
• US involvement in European politics
• European Union loans
• opposition strategies
• populism in Europe

Keywords

• Viktor Orban
• Hungary
• US politics
• European Union
• JD Vance
• general election
• populism
• opposition
• Serbia

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: European Union, United States

Places: Hungary, Budapest, Serbia

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