Analysis
Politics
What the US Can Learn from Poland’s Election Strategy
12 September 2024
Reeling from a rare series of setbacks at home and abroad, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán acknowledged a shaky start to 2024 but vowed to make a strong comeback during his country’s presidency of the European Union in the second half of the year.
In an annual State of the Nation speech last Saturday, Orbán invoked the expected swing to the right in the European Parliament elections and the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House as foundations of his long-desired “cultural revolution” in Europe. Hungary would “make Europe great again”, he told cheering supporters of the ruling Fidesz Party.
Visegrad Insight asked a panel of experts specialising in Hungarian and European affairs to offer their views on Orbán’s aims in Europe and the likelihood he will achieve them.
It seems pretty clear Orbán is banking on a good showing of the right and far-right in the European elections and makes no secret of his admiration for Donald Trump and Trump’s transactional, identitarian, nationalist and anti-migrant politics.