Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has suggested that the European Union installed Poland’s current government as part of a conspiracy against the previous right-wing ruling camp.
In an interview for Hungarian state-owned radio on Friday, Orbán said key members within the bloc worked to install Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-EU administration to replace the nationalist-populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which led Poland’s government from 2015 to 2023.
Orbán said he believes the EU is planning a similar move in Hungary, adding: “This is not even a secret conspiracy against the Hungarians, but an open and announced plan.”
Orbán, like Poland's PiS, has been accused by critics of propagating conspiracy theories.
Orbán said Brussels wants a “puppet government” in Budapest, according to a social media post by Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács.
“A similar thing happened in Poland. Poland had also followed its own path, they had chosen independent politics in regards to migration, gender and economics,” Orbán said, without providing evidence.
The Hungarian leader said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber, the chairman of the European People’s Party – the largest political group in the EU – played key roles in the alleged plot.
Orbán added: “This is how our friend Tusk became the prime minister of Poland.”
Paweł Wroński, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry, said in a statement cited by US news agency AP: “A free parliamentary election took place in Poland on Oct. 15, 2023.
“The current government in Poland, just like the previous governments, was not installed but has been elected and is the expression of the will of the Polish voters,” Wroński added.
Orbán said he believes the EU is planning a similar move in Hungary, adding: “This is not even a secret conspiracy against the Hungarians, but an open and announced plan.”
Orbán, like Poland's PiS, has been accused by critics of propagating conspiracy theories.
Orbán said Brussels wants a “puppet government” in Budapest, according to a social media post by Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács.
“A similar thing happened in Poland. Poland had also followed its own path, they had chosen independent politics in regards to migration, gender and economics,” Orbán said, without providing evidence.
The Hungarian leader said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber, the chairman of the European People’s Party – the largest political group in the EU – played key roles in the alleged plot.
Orbán added: “This is how our friend Tusk became the prime minister of Poland.”
Paweł Wroński, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry, said in a statement cited by US news agency AP: “A free parliamentary election took place in Poland on Oct. 15, 2023.
“The current government in Poland, just like the previous governments, was not installed but has been elected and is the expression of the will of the Polish voters,” Wroński added.
Orbán’s accusations come as recent polls suggest his right-wing Fidesz party is trailing the opposition for the first time in almost two decades. Hungarian parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2026.
Tusk’s centrist coalition defeated Law and Justice in parliamentary elections in Poland last year, paving the way for an end to eight years of nationalist-populist rule.
Law and Justice had been a staunch ally of Orban’s Fidesz on the international stage, with the two parties long supporting each other in the EU to defy Brussels on policies regarding migration and the rule of law.
Tusk’s centrist coalition defeated Law and Justice in parliamentary elections in Poland last year, paving the way for an end to eight years of nationalist-populist rule.
Law and Justice had been a staunch ally of Orban’s Fidesz on the international stage, with the two parties long supporting each other in the EU to defy Brussels on policies regarding migration and the rule of law.
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