https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!698B!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faad18980-a1ae-4feb-b593-cc6ec3a9ac5e_736x510.jpeg Viktor Orbán (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán became a hero for some on the right because of his unapologetic opposition to one of Europe’s great failures: mass immigration. At the same time, he “contributed to other problems that more directly affect U.S. interests,” Free Beacon columnist Mike Watson writes in the wake of Orbán’s electoral defeat. Americans who focus on national security see Budapest as one of the most pernicious foot-draggers on European defense. Orbán has cozied up to Russia throughout his tenure, most recently signing a new trade and energy agreement in December. Unlike virtually every other European country, Hungary has increased its dependence on Russian oil since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and repeatedly slowed or vetoed sanctions on Russia. It currently blocks a $100 billion EU loan for Ukraine. Orbán is also close to China and Iran. Shortly after expelling Soros’s university, he tried to approve a campus for China’s Fudan University. Xi Jinping has richly rewarded Orbán for being his lawyer in Brussels: He established an “All-Weather Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” during a visit to Budapest in 2024, and Hungary was the top European destination for Chinese investment that year. Budapest signed a trade deal with Iran a few months after October 7 and promised to help Iran investigate after Israel detonated thousands of Hezbollah’s pagers. Hungarian nationalists do not understand their problems or how to solve them. Before World War I, they co-ruled a massive, multiethnic empire with Austria and never recovered from the consequences of that defeat. They now complain bitterly about their lost territory and the Hungarian communities there—one of Ukraine’s top drone commanders is ethnically Hungarian—blame the United States for somehow holding them back, and fantasize about getting even. This is one of the key sources of Europe’s malaise rather than a solution for it. READ MORE: Managed Decline: Lessons from Viktor Orbán’s Loss