Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday congratulated Viktor Orban for his fourth consecutive term win as Hungary’s Prime Minister. PM Modi told Orban that he looks forward to continue working with him (Orban) to “further strengthen the close and friendly India-Hungary ties”.
It is Orban’s fifth overall term as Hungary’s Prime Minister after taking a decisive majority in elections.
“Congratulations, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on your victory in the Parliamentary elections in Hungary. Look forward to continue working with you to further strengthen the close and friendly India-Hungary ties,” PM Modi tweeted.
Orban is an authoritarian leader of Hungry and is longtime ally of Russia. With around 86 per cent of vote counted on late Sunday night, his party Fidesz was leading on 135 of 199-member parliament.
The vote margin was 53.7 per cent for Fidesz to 34.4 per cent for the United for Hungary opposition collision, led by Peter Marki-Zay, who conceded defeat on Sunday.
According to a report by CNN, the election campaign for the Hungry parliamentary elections was strongly focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also had put Orban’s bond with Russian President Vladimir Putin under scrutiny.
After winning, Orban in his speech called Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy one of the “opponents” he had to overcome during the poll campaign.
“This victory is one to remember, maybe even for the rest of our lives, because we had the biggest (range of opponents to) overpower. The left at home, the international left, the bureaucrats in Brussels, the money of the Soros empire, the international media and even the Ukrainian president in the end,” Orban said.
He further said, “The entire world can see that our brand of Christian democratic, conservative, patriotic politics has won. We are sending Europe a message that this is not the past – this is the future.”
PM Modi dials Hungarian PM Viktor Orban
On 9 March, 2022, a few days after Russia began full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on phone with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.
During the telephonic conversation, both the leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine and had agreed on the need to ensure an immediate ceasefire and a return to diplomacy and dialogue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also thanked PM Orban and the Hungarian government for facilitating the evacuation of more than 6,000 Indian citizens through the Ukraine – Hungary border.
Meanwhile, the Hungarian Prime Minister had conveyed his best wishes to the Indian medical students evacuated from crisis-hit Ukraine, and said they could choose to continue their studies in Hungary if they wished to. PM Modi appreciated the “generous offer” of PM Orban.
Both the leaders even agreed to remain in touch, especially during the ongoing conflict and to continue to put their efforts to bring an end to the conflict.
On 26 February, 2022, the Indian Embassy in Hungary had issued an advisory stating that those Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine could cross into Hungary through the Zahony-Uzhhorod border crossing.
Who is Viktor Orban
In March 1988, Orban, a right-wing autocrat along with his fellow scholars at Bibo College near Budapest formed the Alliance of Young Democrats, or Fidesz, an ostensibly liberal-orientated movement.
The very next year he gave a rousing speech in Heroes’ Square in Budapest, which was rightly timed as the country was seeing a steady collapse of communist regime.
In Hungary’s first free election that was held in April 1990, Orban’s party bagged 22 of 386 parliament seats.
In Hungary’s general elections back in May 1998, Orban’s party bagged the most number of seats in parliament and he became the youngest head of government in Europe at the time.
He entered government through a coalition with the centre-right Independent Smallholders Party and Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF).
His first spell as Prime Minister of Hungary was between 1998 and 2002.
Orban has held power for 12 years which makes him the EU’s longest-serving leader. However, he is at loggerheads with the EU over the erosion of democratic standards and developed cordial relations with Putin.
Orban has held on to the post of Prime Minister of Hungary despite a difficult past few years, with the country witnessing one of the world’s highest per-capita death rates in the COVID-19 pandemic, surging inflation and constant conflict with the EU over the rule of law.
Orban has been loyal to the European Union amid the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Also, he has sought to downplay his ties to Putin with him saying, “Hungary must stay out of this conflict” approach.
With inputs from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.