Hungary will approve Sweden’s NATO accession very soon – UPDATED

At least that is what PM Viktor Orbán suggested in his yesterday State of the Nation speech in Budapest. It seems that Orbán – following the presidential pardon scandal – will not prolong the dispute with Sweden over its NATO bid and will not wait until the Swedish prime minister visits Budapest.

There is an interesting double-faced communication concerning the Swedish NATO accession. The Hungarian government says they support Stockholm’s bid, but the Fidesz parliamentary group resists. In some democracies, such a situation could be imaginable. In Hungary, that is unrealistic.

As insiders keep saying, Fidesz functions as an army. And nobody says ‘No’ in an army to a command from above.

Therefore, we can say that Orbán decides whether his parliamentary group gives the green light for Sweden. And he denied that from Stockholm for almost two years.

There is no good answer as to why he’s done that. The Hungarian government never expressed any prerequisites towards the Swedish government. They only said that some Swedish politicians do not ‘respect’ the Orbán cabinet and spread lies about it. Experts said Orbán blocks Sweden’s NATO bid because that is how he makes sure Erdogan does not remain alone.

Hungary will accept Sweden’s NATO bid

Previously, the Hungarian government said that Budapest would not be the last one to approve the Swedish NATO bid. But that is exactly what happened in January when Türkiye accepted it in just a few days. The Hungarian opposition called together an extraordinary session to follow the Turkish example, but Fidesz and KDNP lawmakers remained away.

The presidential pardon scandal could have allowed Orbán to settle the issue, and call together another extraordinary session to accept the President’s resignation and accept the Swedish NATO bid. But they missed that option for some reason.

Yesterday, the prime minister talked about Stockholm’s NATO bid in his State of the Nation Speech. Orbán said it was “good news that our dispute with Sweden is nearing a conclusion”. Together with the Swedish prime minister, they made important steps to rebuild trust, he said, adding that the Hungarian parliament could ratify Sweden’s NATO accession at the start of its spring session.

That means Hungary will accept Sweden’s NATO bid in end-February. However, it does not explain why Budapest blocked it for almost two years. It suggests that Orbán accepted the Swedish prime minister’s refusal to come to Hungary before the voting to discuss the issues as he did in the case of Ankara.

Evaluating the issue from the outside, it seems blocking the Swedish NATO bid became a diplomatic failure for Orbán.

UPDATE

According to index.hu, the Swedish and the Hungarian governments will conclude a large arms and military industry deal following the Hungarian parliament’s green light for Sweden’s NATO accession. The media outlet could not acquire verified information about the agreement, but they wrote military equipment would arrive in Hungary. It may happen that they will modify Hungary’s Gripen deal. Furthermore, the Swedish embassy in Budapest is preparing for the visit of the Swedish prime minister.

Read also:

• Hungary will accept Sweden’s NATO bid next week? – Read more HERE
• If Sweden wants to join the NATO, their prime minister will have to travel to Budapest – Details in THIS article

Featured image: Illustration