Tens of thousands of Viktor Orban supporters marched in Budapest on Thursday to show support for the nationalist premier on a key Hungarian anniversary, as he faces the most acute threat to his 15-year rule from a pro-EU opposition party ahead of 2026 elections.
The commemoration of Hungary's 1956 anti-Soviet uprising that was crushed by the Red Army comes at a delicate time for Orban, who has opposed the EU's policy of providing military aid to Ukraine against Russia's invasion, and has also kept good ties with the Kremlin despite the rest of the EU seeking to isolate Moscow.
Orban, a long-time Trump ally, who has campaigned on wanting peace in Ukraine for years without saying at what price for its neighbour, was also pinning great hopes on a flagged summit in Budapest between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But late on Wednesday Trump cancelled the summit citing a lack of progress in diplomatic efforts and a sense that the timing was off, and also slapped sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, in an effort to starve Moscow of vital revenues.
Hungary is heavily reliant on Russian crude and it was not immediately clear whether the U.S. measures would affect its oil supply. The government did not reply to emailed Reuters questions.
Orban, who will address the rally at 1100 GMT, said earlier on Thursday that the "day of the Budapest Peace March has come."
"Today we send a message to the whole world: Hungary says NO to war! We will not die for Ukraine. We will not send our children to the slaughterhouse at Brussels’ command," Orban tweeted on social media.
As his supporters marched over the Danube - on a day when the European Union holds a summit in Brussels -- with a banner saying "We do not want to die for Ukraine", some participants said protecting Hungary's sovereignty was paramount.
"Hungary's sovereignty is under threat today from several directions, as for myself, I think the biggest threat comes from the imperial aspirations of the European Union," said Andras Kozak in the crowd.
Orban faces elections likely in April 2026, and the new centre-right, pro-EU Tisza party of Peter Magyar, a former government insider, leads most opinion polls. Magyar will address an opposition rally in Budapest later in the day.
Magyar has accused Orban of running an increasingly authoritarian and corrupt government. The government has denied such allegations but Magyar has tapped into voter frustrations with Orban, especially as the economy is just barely growing after an inflation shock.
Media accreditation has opened for the 13th session of the World Urban Forum, the United Nations’ flagship conference on sustainable urban developme...
The European Union faced calls to implement a range of economic countermeasures in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs...
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev visited the Alley of Martyrs to honour the memory of those killed on 20 January....
Six people have been killed after a massive fire tore through a shopping centre in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, authorities said, as firefighte...
The world is entering a more unstable and fragmented phase as global cooperation declines and rivalry between major powers intensifies, the World Econ...
Speaking on the Armenian public radio on 9 January, Armenia’s Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan made some important announcements for 2026. He said that Yerevan is currently discussing with Baku the range of products it can potentially export to Azerbaijan.
Fears of the end of the West, to paraphrase Mark Twain, may be premature. But they might not be premature for long.
The European Union faced calls to implement a range of economic countermeasures in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on eight European countries in connection with Greenland.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a decree recognising Kurdish language rights, as government forces advanced against U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters despite U.S. calls for restraint.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday (17 January) that concerns over security in Greenland should be addressed within the framework of NATO, describing a ground military intervention as highly unlikely.
Ashley St. Clair, mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, has filed a lawsuit against Musk’s company xAI, alleging that its AI tool Grok generated explicit images of her, including one portraying her as underage.
Egypt and Sudan have welcomed an offer by U.S. President Donald Trump to restart mediation with Ethiopia in a bid to resolve the long-running dispute over Nile River water sharing.
Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing that the companies profited unfairly from his early support of the artificial intelligence firm, according to a court filing made public on Friday.
Lithuanian prosecutors have charged six foreign nationals with terrorism over an alleged plot to attack a private military supplier providing aid to Ukraine.
The European Union faced calls to implement a range of economic countermeasures in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on eight European countries in connection with Greenland.
Six people have been killed after a massive fire tore through a shopping centre in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, authorities said, as firefighters battled through the night to contain the blaze.
The world is entering a more unstable and fragmented phase as global cooperation declines and rivalry between major powers intensifies, the World Economic Forum has warned.
The Trump administration has denied a report that countries would be required to pay $1bn to join a proposed U.S.-backed peace initiative, after Bloomberg News said a draft charter set out a membership fee.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 18 January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment