Marius Dragomir on Viktor Orbán’s Balancing Act

In a commentary published in five different languages, CMDS Director Marius Dragomir looks at why Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaks out against the war in Ukraine while ordering his media to spread pro-Russian misinformation.

In an article published on European news portal Euronews, Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, Bulgarian Dnevnik, Spanish news site El Espanol and Dutch Volkskrant, Marius Dragomir identifies two main reasons for this two-faced strategy: maximizing votes in the upcoming Hungarian elections and not offending the Kremlin.

Orbán speaks out against Russia’s attack on Ukraine to reassure some voters who fear further escalation of the conflict. He also satisfies his EU colleagues with supporting the EU position on the war.

Meanwhile, the government-controlled media in Hungary have been falsely reporting that the opposition would send soldiers and weapons to Ukraine.

The pro-government media are also spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda with the aim of not alienating Orbán’s pro-Russian supporters.

The second reason Marius Dragomir identifies is Orbán’s loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The article points to the friendly relations Orbán has built with Putin, and how he built the Hungarian media capture after the Russian blueprint.

“The war in Ukraine is a difficult test for Orbán, who is doing everything in his power to get re-elected without alienating anti-war Hungarian voters or upsetting the Kremlin,” the article concludes.

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