Hungarian Conservative

Hungary strongly opposes Dutch PM Mark Rutte’s candidacy. There are alternatives to Rutte, however; candidates that might not enjoy widespread support as of now but are less divisive. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, for one, recently announced his candidacy for the role. But Hungary’s endorsement of President Iohannis is not self-evident, considering that Klaus accused the Romanian Socialist Democratic Party and the Hungarian minority party UDMR of conspiring ‘to give Transylvania to Hungary’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is the frontrunner to become NATO’s next Secretary General, with the support of Washington, London, Berlin, and Paris. However, Hungary has expressed objections regarding the Dutch politician’s candidacy. As a consensus is required for his election, a Hungarian veto could potentially lead to Rutte’s downfall.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy, where he expressed his strong support for Ukraine’s accession to the military alliance. Viktor Orbán, who has been a vocal proponent of peace negotiations and is fully aware that such remarks are seen as a provocative move by Russia, took to Twitter to voice his strong dissent.

‘But anyways, a changing of the guard is coming. And that means that Ursula von der Leyen—by the way, nominated, if not created, by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel—, just like Jens Stoltenberg, has to look for a new job. Pony riding is obviously no option for her any more. She is a political animal, a political wolf maybe. Too bad that there are technical and political obstacles.’

The NATO–Ukraine Foreign Ministers’ meeting will take place on 4–5 April in Brussels and it will not be a one-time event, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. He also added that Hungary’s concerns will be discussed.