Tuesday, April 05, 2022

Hungary Election: Viktor Orban's Victory Hailed by Putin

Moment Hungary PM makes dig at President Zelensky in victory speech. | Screenshot from the accompanying BBC video.

BBC: Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been congratulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin after he won a fourth term by a landslide in the country's general election.

His right-wing Fidesz party had 53% of votes with almost 99% counted.

The opposition alliance led by Peter Marki-Zay was far behind with 35%.

The Kremlin says Mr Putin expressed confidence that the two countries could develop further ties "despite the difficult international situation".

In his victory speech, Mr Orban criticised Brussels bureaucrats and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling them "opponents".

Mr Zelensky has repeatedly criticised Mr Orban's ban on the transfer of arms to Ukraine, with which it shares a border.

Based on preliminary results, the National Election Office said Fidesz would have 135 seats, a two-thirds majority, and the opposition alliance would have 56 seats.

The victory will be Fidesz's fourth successive win since 2010. With video » | BBC | Monday, April 4, 2022