Free Republic

"The first-order, existential challenge to democracy in Eastern Europe is coming from leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — once, incidentally, a recipient of a Soros scholarship — who mistake their substantial popular mandate for a free pass to crack down on dissenting voices. Under Orbán’s leadership, Hungary’s democratic bona fides have declined in recent years, according to Freedom House."

BREAKING: Viktor Orban: "JD Vance is right. In Europe, freedom is not threatened from outside, but is being overthrown from within. Change is needed, this cannot go on."

A scenario European leaders would do well to consider, as Kyiv enters the Washington-sponsored peace process with profound frustration: with the White House determined to put an end to the war in Ukraine, the Europeans are telling Zelensky that no peace is necessary. The war can continue indefinitely, they say; and, if the Americans want out, Europe can still step in to fill the void. But Zelensky is foolish to believe that the Europeans will save him from the forces of reality. Europe, the last bulwark of the once-insurmountable pro-war consensus, is a continent of hawks without beaks. Ukraine cannot...

The head of Budapest’s Office for the Protection of Sovereignty claimed that tens of millions of dollars from the United States and the European Union have funded left-leaning media institutions over the past three years, with the intent of overthrowing the conservative government of Viktor Orbán in Hungary. Supposedly independent media outlets in Hungary have been propped up by money from the now-axed United States Agency for International Development (USAID), other State Department programmes, as well as from the European Commission, Tamás Lánczi said this week. The top man at the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty said that the...

Speaking in parliament, he stressed that no one can tell Budapest what decision it is to make on Ukraine’s accession to the European UnionBUDAPEST, May 5. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that he was forced into an open conflict with Vladimir Zelensky because he heard a blatant threat in his words. Speaking in parliament, he stressed that no one can tell Budapest what decision it is to make on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. The Hungarian prime minister noted that until recently he has been trying to avoid spats with Zelensky and ignore his provocative remarks...

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a high-profile meeting with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán, in Budapest. Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei, has called Orbán his “comrade in this fight for the ideas of freedom,” and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni is Orbán’s “Christian sister.” Last year, Donald Trump hosted the Hungarian leader three times at Mar-a-Lago. How did this one country in Europe become a beacon for right-wing ideas—and leaders—around the world? Once upon a time, Hungary was the poster child of “regime change”—the peaceful transition from communism to democracy. The process was indeed peaceful. But was it...

A short time after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Hungary last week, a representative of the International Criminal Court sent a request to the Hungarian government asking it to extradite him. The request, which was revealed by Channel 12, included a demand for the Prime Minister to be temporarily detained per the Treaty of Rome under which the court operates with a series of unfounded accusations including "use of starvation as a weapon of war," "crimes against humanity," and "attacking civilian areas." The court emphasized that the request is top-secret to protect the process that would allow for the...

Just hours after the terse exchange at the White House between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on one side and US President Trump and Vice President JD Vance on the other, European leaders were quick to voice their full support for the war-torn country.What the world hoped would be a productive meeting between leaders of the two countries after they traded jabs last week quickly turned into a heated spat, resulting in a shouting match in the White House's Oval Office. Trump berated Zelenskyy, saying: “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country,...

"We believe that the country should not tolerate Pride marching through the city center,' Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyás announced.BUDAPEST, Hungary (LifeSiteNews) – The Hungarian government announced that it will not allow an LGBT “pride” parade to take place in 2025, citing the protection of children. Politico reported that Gergely Gulyás, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, declared at a weekly press conference that “there will be no Pride in the public form in which we have known it in recent decades. We believe that the country should not tolerate Pride marching through the city...

The President of the Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik, said that 300 members of the Hungarian special police arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina this week. According to him, they are located in the RS MUP facilities in Banja Luka. “I must inform you that I am proud. I have agreed with Prime Minister Orban that their anti-terrorist unit, 300 people, will come to RS and that together with the RS MUP Special Anti-terrorist Unit, they will have training and exercises,” Dodik said last night during his address to the RS National Assembly. Dodik met with Viktor Orban last week, the...

Tucker Carlson interviews Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on USAID, Trump, immigration, NATO, and the Russia-Ukraine war. TUCKER CARLSON: I remember one of your advisors telling me years ago, whispering to me at dinner that the U.S. government, the State Department, and agencies like USAID were working against you, funding your opposition indirectly, and really trying to subvert democracy in your country and thinking, boys, can that be true? It turns out now it is true. And I wonder when the rest of us are gonna get details on what exactly the State Department did to end democracy in Hungary....

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hours before President Donald Trump was sworn in to begin his second term, promising a “golden age” for America, the leader of a Central European country was describing the years ahead in strikingly similar terms. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Trump’s return would usher in Hungary’s own “golden age” and mark the “collapse” of liberal democracy. The messaging overlap was no surprise. Orbán’s strongman style has long served as an inspiration for U.S. conservatives, who have looked at Hungary as a possible model for a right-wing America with less immigration, fewer regulations and the removal of...

As the Hungarian prime minister said, the money was used to sponsor opposition media outlets and non-governmental organizationsBUDAPEST, February 10. /TASS/. The recent disclosure by President Donald Trump about where US foreign aid went shows that the funds were used to overthrow unwanted governments in other countries, including Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, noting that "a grandiose scandal is unfolding in America." "The US president has decided to reveal who received money and how much was allocated by various government agencies in recent years. It turned out that the liberal world elite used the budget and the US government...

David Sacks blasts USAID for using American taxpayers to fund left-wing organizations and policies around the world.. We're in debt almost $40 trillion, and anytime anyone tries to cut anything in Washington, the whole city screams bloody murder. The question is, why? Well, now we know. The money is all going to them." "New York Times, getting paid. Politico, getting paid. Bill Kristol, perennial warmonger, getting paid. Ukraine, like 11 out of 12 publications, getting paid. Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, was saying his political opposition is funded by USAID." "In Poland, the left-wing political opposition is funded...

Máté Kocsis, the leader of the Fidesz faction, announced after a meeting of the National Security Committee that, according to information obtained by the Hungarian secret services, the Ukrainian state had launched a smear campaign against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. “It is not news that a Ukrainian intelligence operation has been launched to discredit Viktor Orbán, as the Hungarian intelligence services reported on it at the meeting of the National Security Committee of the Parliament,” ​​Levente Boros Bánk, director of political analysis at the Nézőpont Institute, told Magyar Nemzet. The goal is to undermine the international reputation of the...

Polish Prime Minister also said his Hungarian counterpart "is playing in Putin’s team"MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk threatened his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban with consequences if he vetoes the extension of sanctions against Russia. "If Prime Minister Viktor Orban really blocks European sanctions at a key moment for the war, it’ll be absolutely clear that in this big game for the security and future of Europe, he is playing in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s team, not in ours. With all the consequences of this fact," he wrote on X. On January 24, Orban demanded that, ahead...

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the peace efforts by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.To begin with, Zelensky rejected the notion of having intermediaries, saying that Ukraine needs – and has – direct relations with the United States.essanews reported:“President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the importance of Ukraine having direct interactions with the United States. ‘We are currently in a transitional period in the United States. I am in contact with President Trump’, he stated. ‘We have had several meetings and talks. I don’t need intermediaries for this’, Zelensky announced during the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Ukraine.He added...

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has held multiple phone conversations with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban since winning the November 5 presidential election, according to sources who spoke to RFE/RL’s Hungarian Service. - snip- Preparations are reportedly under way for Orban to take a second crack at a peace mission in December to bookend Hungary’s rotating EU presidency after his first attempt in July when Budapest’s tenure started. -snip- Details of a potential peace mission in December are not clear, but sources suggested to RFE/RL’s Hungarian Service that it may involve delivering Trump’s messages to Zelenskiy, Putin, and Chinese President Xi...

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said Friday he would invite Benjamin Netanyahu to visit his country and that he would guarantee that an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister would "not be observed." Orban's remarks stand in contrast to a long list of European leaders who promised to respect the court's decision. Ireland's prime minister Simon Harris said Friday that his country would be prepared to arrest the Israeli prime minister if he came to the country. “We support international courts and we apply their warrants,” Harris told national broadcaster RTE when asked if Netanyahu would...

BUDAPEST, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Europe will need to rethink its support of Ukraine if Donald Trump is elected president of the United States, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Sunday, as the continent "will not be able to bear the burdens of the war alone". Orban opposes military aid to Ukraine and has made clear he thinks Trump shares his views and would negotiate a peace settlement for Ukraine. He backs former president Trump, the Republic candidate, to beat Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in Tuesday's U.S. election. "We (in Europe) need to realize that if there will be...