Turkey has surprisingly cleared the way for Sweden to join NATO. Now it would only be Hungary’s turn. Prime Minister Orbán signals his approval – but he still fails to take any concrete steps.
The government in Budapest was apparently caught off guard by Turkey’s yes to Sweden’s NATO membership. It took Prime Minister Viktor Orbán until the early afternoon to sort himself out. After a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Orbán reiterated on Platform X that he supported Swedish NATO membership. He will continue to urge Parliament to vote in favor soon.
Orbán is suggesting that he is not in control of the process. In fact, he rules Hungary single-handedly – and Orbán has now proven several times that his promises cannot be relied upon. “We will not be the last to ratify. We will ratify before Turkey,” the Hungarian government had asserted dozens of times.
Promise not kept
But at the moment it looks as if Hungary will be the last country to agree to Sweden joining the defense alliance. The opposition sees Hungary disgraced on the international stage.
“It is incredibly embarrassing and unpleasant that Hungary finds itself in such a situation – that we have treated Sweden like this, that we previously treated Finland like that too,” says Zsolt Gréczy, parliamentary group spokesman for the Democratic Coalition DK. “Hungary’s fundamental national interest is that NATO has more member states – and especially rich ones, with developed military and economic backgrounds. But Orbán represented Putin’s interests.”
What’s the purpose of the blockade?
On Tuesday, Orbán invited Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to Budapest to negotiate NATO accession. The reaction from Stockholm was cautious. Because it is still completely unclear what Hungary actually wants to achieve with its blockade. Orbán has repeatedly used vague phrases about this. “Hungary demands respect from Sweden for itself. And only then will the country adopt a positive decision,” Orbán said in parliament at the end of September.
On other occasions, Hungarian politicians have called for the release of frozen EU funds – despite the fact that NATO cannot do anything in this regard. In the background, Orbán is likely to have always coordinated with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the blockade.
Erdogan is letting Orbán down
However, Orbán has now been left out of this, analyzes foreign policy expert and former ambassador István Szent-Iványi. “In my opinion, you can see how much Hungary means to Turkey.” Turkey took advantage of Hungary, he says. “Because for them it was really great that they weren’t the only blackmailers. They had someone at their side. And then when they gave up that position, they didn’t bother with their ally. That gave them the Hungarian leadership ashamed.”
It now remains to be seen whether they will insist on negotiations with Sweden or whether Orbán will actually allow parliament to vote. The National Assembly is currently in winter break until the end of February. However, a special meeting would be possible at any time.
Silke Hahne, ARD Vienna, tagesschau, January 24, 2024 5:01 p.m