“Meloni’s visit is highly important for Prime Minister Orban, who has become increasingly isolated in the EU since the war in Ukraine, and needs to prove to his electorate that he still has some heavyweights on his side in Europe,” our Program Director Zsuzsanna Szelenyi said to Balkan Insight.
“Meloni has to perform a careful balancing act. She is pursuing a more pro-EU agenda than expected, but part of her electorate cherishes Orban,” she continued, adding that “she has to keep her party base happy.”
She also believes that despite differing positions on Russia, Orban and Meloni “can find common ground on EU policies, such as rule-of-law issues, which the government could then sell to the Hungarian public as a big victory and preserve Orban’s image as an influential politician within the EU.”
Read the full article here.