The “illiberal” prime minister, who was backed by ally President Trump this week, is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday.
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Published February 14, 2026
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said his country should fear the European Union more than it fears Russia, pledging to wipe out the bloc’s “machines of repression” ahead of what is expected to be a tense parliamentary election.
In his annual State of the Union address on Saturday, Orbán vowed to eliminate “foreign influences that, together with their proxies, limit our sovereignty,” as the opposition Tisza party maintains an eight- to 12-point lead over his ruling Fidesz party eight weeks after the April 12 general election.
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“Acts that incite fear” [Russian President Vladimir] President Putin is primitive and unscrupulous. But Brussels is a clear reality and a source of imminent danger,” said the 62-year-old leader, who likened the EU to the repressive Soviet regime that ruled Hungary for decades last century.
Since returning to power for a second time in 2010, Orbán has waged a campaign against “pseudo-private organizations,” “bought journalists,” judges and politicians, aiming to build what he calls an “illiberal state.”
His crackdown on immigration has provided a blueprint for right-wing leaders such as US President Donald Trump.
“War or peace?”
In a speech on Saturday, Prime Minister Orbán suggested that his efforts to rid the country of liberal forces were only “half done,” noting that Trump, who is backing him to win the next vote, “will rebel against the liberals’ global business, media and political networks, which will also improve our chances.”
On Friday, President Trump renewed his support for Mr. Orbán on his platform Truth Social, saying he is a “truly strong, strong leader with a track record of delivering extraordinary results.”
The US president’s comments come as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to visit Hungary on Sunday. Rubio will fly in from Germany’s Munich Security Conference and will stop in Slovakia to meet with nationalist Prime Minister Roberto Fico.
Prime Minister Orbán, who has enjoyed a warm relationship with President Putin during the current rise to power, this week characterized April’s elections as a stark choice between “war or peace,” warning in a Facebook post that Peter Magyar’s Tisza party would drag the country into the escalating conflict in neighboring Ukraine.
The prime minister further reinforced his strategy of portraying Magyars as “brussels’ puppets” by holding up a sign depicting a Magyar saying “yes” to a demand for “money to Ukraine!” From Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
