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Adam Zivo: The end of Viktor Orbán

Hungary's Sunday election poised to topple Putin’s Trojan horse in the EU

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Longstanding Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who turned his country into a pro-Russian kleptocracy, is widely expected to be toppled in this weekend’s parliamentary election. His ouster would strike a blow against global authoritarianism, yet both Moscow and Washington, in a perverse alliance, want to keep him in office.

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A generation ago, few would’ve imagined that Hungary — a central European nation of just under 10 million people — would play an outsized role in global politics. However, Orbán’s political maneuvering has turned the country into a beacon of conservative populism and an indispensable asset in Russia’s campaign to influence Europe and the United States.

Adam Zivo: The end of Viktor Orbán Back to video

After Orbán took power in 2010, he subordinated state institutions to his will, conspired with loyal oligarchs to capture most of the national media, and amended Hungary’s constitution to emphasize Christianity and traditional values.

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Previously a staunchly anti-Russian voice, Orbán’s commitment to his vision of an “illiberal state,” as he described it in a 2014 speech, led him to forge an ideological and political alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both men........

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