JD Vance due in Hungary to back Orban’s re-election bid
JD Vance Due in Hungary to Back Orban’s Re-election Bid
JD Vance, the U.S. vice president, will visit Hungary to endorse Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s re-election campaign. This support comes as the country faces a critical parliamentary race, marking one of Orban’s most challenging electoral contests in his nearly four-decade political career.
Vance is scheduled to speak at a rally in Budapest on Tuesday, held in a football stadium. The event aims to rally voters ahead of the 12 April election. Earlier this month, Donald Trump expressed full support for Orban in a video message to the Hungarian Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest.
“Orban had my complete and total support,” Trump stated in his message.
Orban’s re-election campaign hinges on his narrative of standing against external pressures, particularly from Ukraine. His rivalry with Peter Magyar, a former Fidesz insider who founded the centre-right Tisza party two years ago, adds tension. Tisza currently leads Fidesz by 10-20% in most polls, though the government-aligned Nezopont agency suggests a narrow lead for Orban.
Hungary’s energy infrastructure is under scrutiny. The Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil through Ukraine, has been disrupted since January, leading to a reliance on alternative fuel sources. Orban has attributed the blockage to Ukraine’s failure to restore the line after a Russian attack on oil facilities in western Ukraine on 27 January.
Meanwhile, a new crisis emerged on Sunday when Serbia reported explosives near the TurkStream gas pipeline close to the Hungarian border. Orban and his media outlets branded the incident as a terror attack on the nation’s energy supply. However, opposition figures and former intelligence sources suspect the event was orchestrated with Serbian President Alexander Vucic to bolster Orban’s chances.
Orban’s campaign has also been impacted by leaked conversations between Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Russian officials. The transcripts reveal Szijjarto shared sensitive EU discussions with Moscow, reportedly pushing for Russian officials to be exempt from sanctions. Szijjarto defended these calls as routine diplomatic exchanges.
Trump’s relationship with Orban, which dates back to 2016, has deepened since then. Orban supported Trump’s re-election bid in 2024 and secured an oil sanction exemption for Hungary last October. Trump emphasized that the deal was personal, suggesting a successor would need to reapply if Orban loses.
Hungary’s energy strategy has drawn criticism from Brussels. The country continues to rely heavily on Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline and gas through TurkStream, despite calls to reduce dependence. With both supply lines compromised, Hungary has resorted to releasing reserves and importing oil from Croatia to mitigate shortages.