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Orban gathers An old European family Admirers call it “hip”, but it is more commonly known as Habsburg dynasty.
In recent days, the media has reported extensively on the conspiracy of the Hungarian Prime Minister, the most interesting of which is his announcement of the establishment of European PatriotismNew Political Group Far Right In the European Parliament.
When Orbán stood in the center of Vienna on June 30 and triumphantly announced the formation of his new club (with members from the former core states of the Habsburg Empire: Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary) alongside his right-wing colleagues from Austria and the Czech Republic, it was clear who would lead it.
“I think that we are creating a political organization that will take off like a rocket and will soon become the largest group on the right in Europe. The sky is the limit,” Orban said.
France National gathering and Italian La Liga He joined the Patriots on Monday after prominent right-wing parties from Spain to the Netherlands also joined the group.
Although France will have the most representatives in the club, Orban and his Habsburg allies could end up dominating if they can win membership of populist parties in Slovenia and Slovakia (which seems likely).
Their alliance seems somewhat surprising, given that the nationalism promoted by the Patriots led to the fall of the Habsburg dynasty in 1918.
Orban as a role model
Perhaps the only thing that has united these politicians so far is mutual distrust.
Austrians Liberal party, For example, she spent decades seeking Czech reparations for Austrians who were dispossessed and expelled from the former Czechoslovakia after World War II. Meanwhile, one of the few issues Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, and Slovenes can agree on is how arrogant the Austrians are.
So why are they suddenly joining hands? In a word: Orban.
While there is still plenty of distrust beneath the surface, the region’s populists know how to recognize a recipe for success when they see it.
Whatever one thinks of the wily Hungarian leader and his shuttle diplomacy last week, which took him to Kiev, Moscow and Beijing, it is undeniable that he has achieved better results than expected. In right-wing circles across central Europe, they look up to Orban as a role model.
Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, who recently survived an assassination attempt, had nothing but praise for Orban when he heard he was visiting Moscow on Friday.
“I would like to congratulate the Hungarian prime minister and express my admiration for his decision to visit Kiev and Moscow. If my health condition allows, I would be happy to join him,” said Fico, whose Smer party is considering joining the Patriots.
Orban and Fico are unlikely allies. Bilateral relations have long been complicated by tensions between the two countries, which ended 800 years of Hungarian rule over Slovakia in 1918.
The two also come from different political spectrums. Orban is a right-wing figure who was a dissident against Soviet control, while Fico is a former communist who became a social democrat after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Like Putin
In addition to growing discontent with tyranny in Brussels, the Patriots have also become more favorable toward Russia’s president. Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.
With the exception of Austria, the far-right parties that have joined the Patriots so far all come from NATO member states. Still, most do not hide their respect for Russia’s leaders.
“Putin cannot lose. It is difficult to imagine that Russia can be defeated,” Orban said in an interview with Axel Springer media on Sunday.
In addition to their distrust of the European Union and their enthusiasm for Russia, Orban’s Habsburg alliance is united by their shared resistance to immigration from the Islamic world, which patriots see as a clash of civilizations.
“We believe in Europe’s willingness to defend its borders, stop illegal immigration and protect its cultural identity in line with the wishes of the vast majority of European citizens,” the group wrote in its founding declaration.
Political power
With members already in power in Hungary and leading in the polls Czech Republic and Austria Ahead of September elections in both countries, Orban’s alliance could quickly become a political force in the region and across the Union.
That would give him the pan-European platform he has been seeking since Fidesz left the European Parliament’s largest party, the center-right European People’s Party, to avoid being kicked out.
If things go the way Orban wants, Hungary will also feel the Patriot effect.
After having played an almost permanent secondary role behind Austria in the Habsburg Empire, Hungary might begin to take the lead.
If necessary, Orbán even has a real Habsburg: Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, the great-great-grandson of 19th-century Emperor Francis Joseph I. Eduard currently serves as Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See.
“If you need us, we’re here,” he said in a recent interview. Only half joking.
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