The odds are slightly in favour of Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of Europe's longest-serving leaders, extending his 12-year rule in an election on Sunday, helped by his government's firm control over state media.
The war in Ukraine has upset Orban's plans and forced him into uncomfortable manoeuvring at home after more than a decade of close ties with Moscow. It has also changed the conversation in Hungary in the final stretch to the ballot.
Orban, 58, has portrayed himself as a defender of Hungarian interests by rejecting EU sanctions on Russian oil and gas. Orban has not vetoed any EU sanctions against Russia, even though he said he did not agree with them. His government has also allowed NATO troops to be deployed in Hungary, where public support for NATO membership stood at 80% in a 2021 GLOBSEC survey.
"If you asked me if I'm happy, then no, but I will wait for the election. We will see after the election," Kaczynski said. "We have to put politics aside in order to have energy. This is what Orban is doing now, but it is not betrayal."Despite the Ukraine war taking centre-stage, many Hungarians are troubled by surging consumer prices, with inflation at an almost 15-year high of 8.3% in February even as Orban imposed caps on retail fuel prices, basic foodstuffs and mortgage rates.
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