bne IntelliNews – Election results in France and Slovenia oppose Orban
The electoral defeats of Janez Janša in Slovenia and Marina Le Pen in France are bad news for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who hoped for a breakthrough for right-wing leaders after winning the election earlier this month.
Hungary’s self-proclaimed illiberal power is increasingly isolated in Europe, and the electoral defeat of Slovenia’s populist SDS means it has one less ally in the European Council at a crucial time when the EU is set to launch a rule of law mechanism. against Hungary.
According to initial comments, the election results over the weekend mean that Orban and his nationalist Fidesz party in Brussels and Strasbourg will narrow their room for maneuver.
Hungary’s growing isolation from the EU, as well as Orban’s close alliance with Vladimir Putin, could culminate in the next few weeks as the EU considers imposing oil sanctions on Russia. This could force Orban to decide during a veto on an EU decision leading to his further isolation, or the anger of his patron in Moscow, which could hurt the lucrative gas and nuclear deals he signed with the Russian dictator.
Due to his pro-Russian stance in the conflict, the Hungarian prime minister has already been sharply criticized not only by the Czech and Slovak prime ministers, but also by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Polish Law and Justice Party, which undermines the unity of Central European V4 unification.
Orban expressed his unequivocal support for Jansa at the February meeting of the two leaders. Janša has been active in Slovene politics for 30 years, just like his Hungarian counterpart, but he has gradually moved towards the hard right and copied some of Orban’s methods.
The Slovenian Prime Minister, with the financial help of Hungarian investors close to Fidesz, sought to consolidate his media background. Businessmen close to Orban’s informal adviser Arpad Habony have gained ownership in the Slovenian media in recent years.
The owners of the Hungarian television station Tv2, associated with the strongest Hungarian oligarch Lorince Meszaros, also bought the third largest Slovenian commercial house Planet Tv.
The possible sale of the largest tourist group in the state of Sava to a company from Budapest, led by Orban’s son-in-law’s business partner, also sparked political discussions, after which Janša was forced to stop the business.
The expansion of Orban’s government in Slovenia has gone so far that Hungary has become the largest foreign investor in Slovenia in recent years, sparking protests.
The results of the French elections could also make it harder for Fidesz to form a joint alliance with radical European parties, analysts say.
Hungary’s illiberal leader actively sought to gather allies in the European political landscape to form a new, large parliamentary group in the European Parliament after becoming a persona non grata in the EP’s largest political bloc, eventually leading to a bitter separation in the beginning 2020
The Marine Le Pen National Assembly and Orban’s Fidesz party were among 16 European radical right-wing parties from the populist conservatives and reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID) in the EP, which signed a joint statement in the summer.
The Hungarian Prime Minister and the leader of the Fidesz party have met with Le Pen several times in the last 12 months and supported her candidacy for the French presidential race.
During the autumn meeting in Budapest, Orban thanked Le Pen for resisting Hungary in the EP.
As in Slovenia, Orban also helped his ally financially through the Hungarian bank MKB, which is partly owned by the richest Hungarian man Lorinac Meszaros, who lent Le Pen 10.6 million euros in the campaign.
The loss of Le Pen in the election could also make it more difficult for Eurosceptic parties to split, divided on a number of issues, such as cooperation with Russia.