#匈牙利总理: It is impossible to refuse cheap natural gas from Russia #
"Hungary cannot reject cheap natural gas from Russia and instead buy high-priced energy from the United States," Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán told the media on April 1. This "maverick" policy complicates the effect of the EU in punishing Russia and further strains an already thorny relationship between the Hungarian government and the EU. It also makes the Wishful Thinking of the United States trying to monopolize the European energy market with the help of the Ukraine crisis have an ominous beginning, which is bound to cause the United States to hate Orban even more, the "contrarian son" who disobeys in the EU and NATO.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán
Orbán Victor is one of the longest-serving leaders of the European Union, serving as Prime Minister of Hungary for sixteen years. In past elections, Orbán has comfortably defeated every one of his opponents, thanks in large part to a series of institutional reforms that have strengthened his grip on power. During his administration, the government implemented the policy of "opening up to the East" and actively developed friendly relations with major countries in the East, including China and Russia.
Orbán is widely regarded as the leader of the most pro-Putin government in the European Union. There are some clear similarities between the two political strongmen's ruling careers, and they share many common languages. During orbán's visit to Russia on Feb. 1, Hen talked with Putin for more than five hours.
Orban and Putin
Pitt, director of the Budapest Institute of Political Capital, said that "the relationship between these two iron men is, on the one hand, economic dependence, on the other hand, ideological similarity." But since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Orbán has had to keep a certain distance from Putin to ensure that it will not affect the upcoming Hungarian parliamentary elections earlier this month.
On February 1, Orbán met with Putin during his visit to Russia
While Orbán supports most of Europe's sanctions against Russia, Orbán insists the sanctions will not be extended to imports of oil and gas from Russia. During a recent visit to London, he said most of Hungary's oil and gas imports come from Russia, with 90 percent of Hungarian households heating themselves with natural gas.
"Hungary cannot reject cheap natural gas from Russia and instead buy high-priced energy from the United States," Orbán told the media on April 1, "if the sanctions are extended to the energy sector, the Hungarian economy will find itself unable to withstand the pressure, and at the same time, it is likely that this will not cause any harm to Russia," he added.
Explaining Orbán's position, a Hungarian government spokesman told CNN that Hungary has accepted about 350,000 Ukrainian refugees since the outbreak of the war, "We are helping those in trouble, but at the same time, we will not take any measures that could drag Hungary into trouble ... We cannot destroy ourselves while helping others – for example, getting involved in a war that doesn't belong to us, in which we have nothing but lose everything."
Gazprom
Orbán worked hard to prevent Hungary from getting involved in the conflict that erupted next to him, and in early March 2022 he signed a decree prohibiting the supply of weapons through its territory or directly to Ukraine "to protect the security of the country," which he said was a conflict between the great powers of the East and the West and that Hungary should not be "a pawn in their game."
This vague policy of neutrality complicates the effect of the EU in punishing Russia and further strains the already thorny relationship between the Hungarian government and the EU. For years, Orban has been at loggerheads with EU leaders over the country's tough immigration policies and grip on power. The European Union has been excluding Orbán's ADLR party on the grounds of democratic regression, and the United States deliberately excluded Hungary from the invitation list of the "Democracy Summit" held last year, making it the only eu country that has not been invited.
The scene of the NATO summit
Orbán's relations with other European countries have also "drifted apart." Polish President Duda, who was once the most pro-Orbán EU leader, recently parted ways with Orbán and denounced the latter's Ukraine policy, "in view of the deaths of thousands of civilians ... It's hard for me to understand this way," Duda said in an interview, "this policy is costly and very expensive for Hungary."
On March 24, Ukrainian President Želensky also called on Hungary to abandon its neutrality in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict during the Council of Europe, sharply telling Orban: "You have to decide for yourself who you want to support." However, Orbán later said in a statement: "Hungary is on its side. ”
A new round of campaign for the Hungarian prime minister is approaching its climax, with both sides using the issue of the Russo-Ukrainian War as a powerful tool to assist votes. With the widespread belief that Orbán would pay for his close relationship with Mr. Putin when the war broke out, the opposition smelled a golden opportunity to fight back against Mr. Orbán: to use the Ukraine crisis to portray Mr. Orban as an up-and-coming authoritarian following Mr. Putin's model. They criticized Orbán's "open to the East" policy. "We have only one choice: we have to choose Europe, not the East," opposition candidate Machi Zai told supporters this month. Both the United States and the European Union seem to see an opportunity to overthrow Orbán from this election, so they both strongly support the pro-Western opposition candidate Makizai and take the opportunity to eliminate dissidents.
However, the poll results are not optimistic for Zai, who seems to be more impressed by the "war-fearing" Hungarians than his "help Ukraine" policy, allowing him to win support ahead of his opponents.
Orbán addressed supporters
Hungary has once again reached a crossroads of looking east or west, and the results of the new parliamentary elections will also determine where Hungary and the EUROPEAN Union and the Trans-Pacific Partnership will go.
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