JD Vance has pushed back against claims that the US is interfering in Hungarian politics, describing the accusations as \u201cdarkly ironic\u201d, as a set of polls suggested the opposition Tisza party could win a supermajority in the forthcoming elections.<\/p>\n
After spending his first day in Budapest excoriating the EU<\/a> and accusing it of being behind one of the \u201cworst examples\u201d of foreign interference, the US vice-president spent part of Wednesday morning speaking at a thinktank and educational institution linked to<\/a> Hungary\u2019s leader, Viktor Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n With four days to go until Hungarians cast their ballots<\/a> \u2013 and with Orb\u00e1n trailing the opposition in most polls<\/a> \u2013 Vance acknowledged the singular nature of his visit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s unprecedented for an American vice-president to come the week before an election,\u201d he said. But he said he had decided to come because of what he described as the \u201cgarbage happening against\u201d Orb\u00e1n in the election. \u201cWe had to show that there are actually lots of friends across the world who recognise that Viktor and his government are doing a good job and they\u2019re important partners for peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Vance insisted, however, that his efforts to bolster the lagging campaign of the rightwing, populist leader \u2013 whose \u201cilliberal democracy\u201d has long been seen as an inspiration<\/a> for the Maga movement \u2013 did not constitute foreign interference. \u201cI find it darkly ironic that people are accusing me of engaging in some kind of foreign influence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the German government shot back at Vance\u2019s claims, rejecting the claim that the EU was interfering in Hungary\u2019s election. The fact that Vance was in Hungary<\/a> \u201calready shows, or speaks for itself, who is interfering in what\u201d, said a government spokesperson.<\/p>\n While the EU was reluctant to discuss the matter, a spokesperson said the bloc would use diplomatic channels <\/a>to convey its concerns to Washington.<\/p>\n A supporter snaps a selfie with P\u00e9ter Magyar, the leader of the Tisza party, which is leading the polls. Photograph: Akos Stiller\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/p>\n One day earlier, as Vance and his wife, Usha, landed in the capital, P\u00e9ter Magyar, the leading opposition candidate, issued a pointed statement. \u201cNo foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow or Brussels \u2013 it is written in Hungary\u2019s streets and squares.\u201d<\/p>\n Magyar, a former member of the Fidesz party\u2019s inner circle, burst into public<\/a> view two years ago after he broke ranks to accuse Orb\u00e1n\u2019s party of rampant corruption. The claims snowballed into a campaign that has steadily swelled, transforming the election<\/a> into one of the most consequential of recent times, as it galvanised voters\u2019 frustration over issues such as deteriorating public services, soaring housing prices and economic stagnation.<\/p>\n The result has been a deeply polarising campaign in which Orb\u00e1n and Fidesz have sought to argue that the EU and Ukraine represent the gravest threats to Hungary, portraying the election as a stark choice between war and peace,<\/a> while Magyar has focused on domestic issues.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, a projection from the polling agency Median suggested that Tisza could win a two-thirds majority in the country\u2019s 199-seat parliament. While accusations<\/a> of vote-buying and gerrymandering make the outcome of the election incredibly difficult to predict, a Tisza supermajority would give the party enough power to amend the constitution and key laws, meaning they could unlock EU funds.<\/p>\n As Vance waded into the Hungarian election, he appeared to have been drawn into Orb\u00e1n\u2019s strategy. The US vice-president laid the blame for Hungary\u2019s ills on the EU, even as research showed the country had received more in EU funding<\/a> than any other major post-communist EU country, both as a share of GDP and per capita, and that Orb\u00e1n\u2019s time in power had correlated with the country becoming the most corrupt<\/a> in the EU.<\/p>\n Vance also took aim at Volodymyr Zelenskyy, describing comments by the Ukrainian leader as \u201ccompletely scandalous\u201d, and accused Kyiv of using energy supplies to influence Hungary. It was a reference to controversial comments Zelenskyy made<\/a> after Orb\u00e1n vetoed further EU sanctions on Russia, as well as an additional \u20ac90bn loan for Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader was prompted to say he could give the address of whoever was responsible to the Ukrainian army. The comment reportedly led European allies to ask Zelenskyy to tone down his rhetoric.<\/p>\n Vance said he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by Europe\u2019s political leadership as it appeared to him that they were not \u201cparticularly interested\u201d in solving the conflict. He contrasted that with Orb\u00e1n \u2013 who has broken with most EU countries by refusing to help Ukraine<\/a> financially or with weapons \u2013 and who, he said, had been \u201cthe one who encouraged us to truly understand\u201d the perspective of both the Ukrainians and Russians.<\/p>\n JD Vance appeared to imply that the resolution to the Russian invasion of Ukraine hinged on Kyiv making territorial concessions. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/Reuters<\/p>\n The US vice-president made no mention of the series of recent scandals that had laid bare the extent of Russia\u2019s influence over Orb\u00e1n\u2019s government, from allegations<\/a> that Russian intelligence agencies and disinformation networks linked to Moscow were working to sway the election in his favour, to the October call<\/a> in which Orb\u00e1n reportedly told Vladimir Putin: \u201cI am at your service.\u201d<\/p>\n After Hungary\u2019s foreign minister, P\u00e9ter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3, was accused of regularly sharing the details of confidential EU meetings with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, leaked audio<\/a> appeared to capture Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 telling Lavrov that he would work to amend the EU sanctions list to Russia\u2019s liking.<\/p>\n On Wednesday there were more revelations, as Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 appeared to offer to send Lavrov a document about Ukraine\u2019s EU accession, in leaked recordings obtained by a consortium <\/a>of investigative reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cI will send it to you. It\u2019s not a problem,\u201d Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 reportedly said, after Lavrov said that Moscow was trying to get a document about the role of minority languages in Ukraine\u2019s EU accession talks.<\/p>\n The revelations were published hours after Vance appeared to imply that the resolution to the Russian invasion of Ukraine hinged on Kyiv making territorial concessions. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about haggling at this point over a few square kilometres of territory in one direction or another,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n