PM Orbán to meet President Trump, after receiving Mr Salvini
May 4th, 2019A pro-government columnist claims that Hungary has become an important diplomatic actor, citing the news that Viktor Orbán will be received by US President Trump later in May, as well as Italian League leader and deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s visit on Thursday to Budapest. A left-wing commentator downplays the importance of President Trump’s invitation.
Magyar Hírlap’s Mariann Őry reads Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s visit to Budapest and US President Trump’s planned talks with PM Orbán as proof that Hungary has become an important diplomatic player in Europe. As for Matteo Salvini’s visit, Őry mentions that the Italian Interior Minister is number one on Politico’s top list of the most influential personalities in Europe. In the pro-government columnist’s interpretation, his meeting with the Hungarian Prime Minister indicates that PM Orbán is regarded as a key figure in the anti-immigrant camp. Őry hopes that after the May EP election, the anti-immigrant parties will revive and rebuild the European Union.
In Népszava, Gábor Horváth downplays the importance of the invitation extended by US President Trump to PM Orbán. The left-wing analyst recalls that it took more than two years for President Trump to decide to meet the Hungarian leader. Horváth nonetheless acknowledges that the invitation is a diplomatic success for the Hungarian government. As for the content of the talks, Horváth speculates that President Trump wants to convince PM Orbán to buy US weapons and energy, as well as to ask the Hungarian Prime Minister to keep a bigger distance from Russia and China. In an aside, Horváth suggests that President Trump cares only about US geopolitical interests, and thus is willing to cooperate with those whom Horváth calls ‘dictators who weaken democracies’.