POLITICO: Who’s the EU’s next disruptor-in-chief after Orbán?

From the left: Janez Janša, Andrej Babiš, Robert Fico, Giorgia Meloni, Rumen Radev
Pic.: POLITICO

The obstructionist Hungarian leader is leaving after 16 years at the Council table — but Brussels shouldn’t expect smooth sailing, POLITICO notes.

The handover comes at a delicate moment, with the bloc leaning on unity to push through sanctions, budgets and other decisions that still require unanimity. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wasted no time this week after Orbán’s defeat to suggest changes to the EU’s voting rules to avoid future bottlenecks.

For years the Hungarian prime minister has wielded his veto to stall key initiatives, most notably on EU support for Ukraine. After his crushing loss in Sunday’s election he will soon be replaced by Péter Magyar, a center-right figure who has signaled a willingness to work more closely with Brussels.

But Orbán’s exit doesn’t mean von der Leyen — or Kyiv — can breathe easy. The European Council, where all 27 leaders meet to take decisions, still includes a handful of Orbán allies and a few potential new spoilers.

Here are the five leaders most likely to take up Orbán’s mantle as the bloc’s next bête noire.

The sidekick: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico

Slovakia’s premier was often Orbán’s faithful partner-in-veto, joining his fellow pro-Russia leader in blocking sanctions on Moscow and demanding a carveout from the EU’s €90 billion loan for Ukraine. With Orbán out, Fico stands alone as the Kremlin’s closest — and perhaps last — friend in the EU.

“I am interested in being a constructive player in the European Union, but not at the expense of the Slovak Republic,” Fico declared last summer.

Fico warned last month that he might veto the €90 billion tranche of funds for Kyiv in Orbán’s stead if the Hungarian were to lose the election. Budapest has for months blocked disbursement of the funds that had been agreed to at a summit in December, over a dispute with Kyiv about a broken pipeline transporting Russian oil to Central Europe.

With the pipeline still not operational — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it wouldn’t be repaired until the end of April — the question now is whether Fico will make good on his threat to take the baton from Orbán and block the funds, or fall in line with the EU. The Slovak leader has previously always backed down on sanctions and joined EU joint statements in support of Ukraine.

The populist billionaire: Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš

Czechia’s prime minister, a 71-year-old billionaire dubbed the “Czech Trump” who has governed in coalition with the far right since December, has already shown some Orbán-style leanings. Babiš was the only leader, along with Orbán and Fico, to demand a carveout from the EU’s €90 billion loan for Ukraine. He has also called for support to Kyiv to be scaled back, although he ultimately stopped short of scrapping Czechia’s ammunition initiative in support of Ukraine’s defense.

Babiš, whose coalition includes the anti-green Motorists party, also has the EU’s climate policies firmly in his sights.

The tightrope walker: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

The Italian leader has walked a precarious tightrope of pragmatism with Brussels since she came to power over three years ago, balancing her right-wing, nationalist politics with a pro-EU stance in international affairs. By allying with other leaders such Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, Meloni sought to toughen the EU’s migration rules through consensus rather than obstructionism.

One EU diplomat said Meloni had proven to be a “totally different breed” of politician from Orbán. But another warned she came from the same political family as the Hungarian and shouldn’t be counted out.

“At the last European Council, the only person to have agreed with Orbán was Meloni,” the second EU diplomat said, referring to the Italian leader’s confession to other leaders that she understood Orbán’s position on the Ukraine loan at the March summit. “You can see there is an ideological link between the two of them.”

The comeback populist: Slovenia’s Janez Janša

Slovenia’s former multi-term prime minister, a right-wing populist and self-described Trump admirer with a penchant for picking fights with journalists, came in second place by just one seat in last month’s dramatic espionage-marred election. With negotiations ongoing it remains unclear whether Janša or incumbent PM Robert Golob will be able to assemble a governing coalition.

Janša, sometimes dubbed a “mini-Trump,” would add to a growing populist club in the EU if he returns to power. On Ukraine, however, there is a notable difference between Janša and Orbán or even Fico: Despite being allied with the Hungarian on other issues, Janša has championed Ukraine’s EU membership.

The Bulgarian wild card: Rumen Radev

Bulgaria’s former president resigned in January to launch a new party and run in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. And he’s on track to win, according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, in a potential breakthrough after years of political paralysis in Sofia.

That might be a problem for Ukraine and its European allies. In 2025 Radev said Ukraine is “doomed” in its war against Russia and argued that increasing EU military aid, or “pouring more weapons” into Kyiv, wasn’t the answer. He also blamed European leaders for encouraging Kyiv’s counteroffensive, saying it had led to “hundreds of thousands of victims” in Ukraine.

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