Eduardo González
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares warned on Wednesday that the appointment of Hungary’s new prime minister “is a decision that rests solely with the Hungarian people,” one day after US Vice President J.D. Vance announced in Budapest the Trump administration’s support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s candidacy in the April 12 elections.
“Whoever the next prime minister of Hungary is is a decision that rests solely with the Hungarian people,” Albares declared during an interview on the program ‘Las Mañanas’ on Radio Nacional de España.
“Every democracy works in exactly the same way in any country: it is a debate among the citizens of that country, where they must have the peace of mind to be able to debate among themselves, listen to the different proposals, and therefore, then go and vote freely with truthful information and knowledge of each electoral platform,” he stated. “That’s why, of course, the more peace and quiet they are left, the more that debate remains exclusively among the citizens of that country, in this case Hungary, the better, and let them be the ones to decide who should lead their country,” he insisted.
Regarding his stance on the Hungarian elections, Albares acknowledged that his wish is for European countries to be led by governments “with pro-European values.” “Pro-European values mean working as a team, defending tolerance, equality, and pluralism at all times, and supporting Ukraine in its defense against a war of aggression,” he warned. “Of course, we have always opposed these vetoes that Hungary demands when it comes to supporting a democracy that is currently in danger, precisely because it aspires to one day be one of us,” he added.
“I don’t expect to force the Hungarian people to listen to the Vice President of the United States. That’s not primarily why I’m here,” Vance stated during his visit to Budapest, the purpose of which, he asserted, is “to send a signal to everyone, particularly the bureaucrats in Brussels” who “have done everything they can to hold back the Hungarian people because they don’t like the leader who has stood up for the Hungarian people.”
The visit came after Donald Trump expressed his support for Orbán. Last February, the US president posted a message describing Orbán as a “truly strong and powerful leader” who “fights tirelessly for, and loves, his great country and its people.”