Hungary After Orbán: 100 Days of the Magyar Government

Dmitry Bunevich, a political scientist and advisor to the director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, discussed the first 100 days of Hungary's new government in an interview with «International Affairs»  magazine:

"When Magyar and his government came to power, they declared that one of their primary goals was to improve relations with Brussels—and the European bureaucracy—in order to fully restore Budapest's access to funds and defuse the political tensions that had existed between Brussels and Budapest during Viktor Orbán's leadership," the expert stated.

"As we know, Orbán faced criticism for his domestic and foreign policies, as well as for his efforts to establish constructive engagement with Moscow," - Dmitry Bunevich noted.

"Magyar dedicated his first 100 days as prime minister to signaling his intent—and outlining concrete steps—toward normalizing relations with Brussels. At the same time, both he and his foreign minister stated that they did not seek to worsen or sever ties with Russia, though they did wish to conduct a certain review of those relations," the expert explained.

"The problem lies in the fact that these two objectives are somewhat contradictory; Brussels clearly views its main goal as countering Russia, supporting the Kyiv regime, and taking measures to harm Russia. Consequently, trying to improve relations with Brussels while avoiding damage to ties with Moscow is extremely difficult—and likely practically impossible," - Dmitry Bunevich believes.

"Viktor Orbán chose to defend Hungary's national interests—firmly asserting his country's position on energy issues and other matters of importance to it within Brussels. Magyar, evidently, does not aim to do this," - the expert observed.

"At the same time, despite his statements, things have not been entirely smooth for Magyar with Brussels either." "On many issues crucial to the modern European Union, he remains—from Brussels' perspective—an excessively conservative figure. In particular, Magyar has no desire to revise legislation aimed at curbing the promotion of the LGBT agenda within Hungarian society; yet, as we well know, Brussels has—for some reason—chosen this topic as a central ideological priority. Consequently, friction between Budapest and Brussels is likely to arise in this area," explained Dmitry Bunevich.

"Magyar’s position is, all in all, a difficult one. He certainly enjoyed a measure of goodwill following the election. People in Hungary wanted change, a better quality of life, and perhaps smoother relations with EU nations; however, the real problems facing Hungary are hard to solve, and so far, we haven't seen Magyar finding the answers," the expert noted.

"It is also important to remember that even under Viktor Orbán—a leader with a bold political stance who was unafraid to fly to Moscow—Hungary’s overarching policy remained aligned with the EU and NATO. This is a crucial indicator: even Hungarian politicians seeking constructive ties with Moscow always understood that Hungary is an EU and NATO member and would ultimately adhere to the policies of these military-political blocs. Figures of Orbán’s stature could pursue their own course and maintain their own position within these blocs. In his first 100 days, Magyar has yet to demonstrate that kind of capability," Dmitry Bunevich emphasized.

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