Because of its geographic position, Hungary is a key player in the European terrorism debacle, and it’s leader, Victor Orban, is clearly pro-Trump. He is also a fan of Russia, often speaking out against the relentless neocon Putin demonization of his fellow EU leaders.
He also really dislikes the Clintons, whom he basically accused of being puppets of fellow-Hungarian, George Soros. From the FT:
In May, former president Bill Clinton attacked Hungary for turning away from democracy and opting for “authoritarian dictatorship” under Mr Orban’s leadership.
In response, Mr Orban accused Mr Clinton of disrespecting Hungary, and forming part of a “shadow empire” guided by Hungarian-American billionaire investor George Soros. “The mouth is Clinton’s but the ideas are from George Soros,” Mr Orban said.
The FT has a good, and uncharacteristically fair, write-up of Orbans recent words in support of Trump.
From Mish Shedlock:
The anti-terrorist message of Donald Trump appeals to Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban.
Bloomberg reports Hungary’s Viktor Orban Says Donald Trump Better for Europe.
- “I am not Donald Trump’s campaigner,” the Hungarian leader said at a cultural event in Baile Tusnad, Romania, an area with a large Hungarian population. “I never thought that the idea would ever occur to me that he is the better of the open options for Europe and Hungary.
- “I listened to (Trump) and I have to tell you that he made three proposals to stop terrorism. And as a European, I myself could not have drawn up better what Europe needs.”
- “If I’m asked what is Hungary’s strongest expectation regarding Turkey today, we will put stability first,” Orban said. “If Turkey becomes unstable, many tens of millions of people from that region will hurtle toward Europe without any sort of filtering, screening or control.”
- “Europe’s current political leadership has failed,” Orban said, adding that the EU was “fooling itself” if it still viewed itself as a “global actor,” saying that era had ended with the vote by Britain to leave the 28-nation bloc.
- “Our problem is not in Mecca but in Brussels,” Orban said. “The bureaucrats in Brussels are an obstacle for us, not Islam.
Orban arguably did as much to stop the flow of refugees into Europe as did Merkel’s ill-advised deal with Turkey.
After Hungary shut its borders with Serbia and Croatia last year, the flow of migrants coming from Turkey through Greece and further north into the EU collapsed.
Merkel’s deal with Turkey further shut the door, but it was individual nations willing to stand up to Merkel that largely did the trick.