Unprecedented diplomatic sparring and sharp exchanges have broken out between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson, after Orbán made a false claim about the number of underage girls charged with murder in Sweden. Orbán portrayed the country as unliveable, while Kristersson accused him of dismantling the rule of law and questioned his ties with Vladimir Putin.
Kristersson even cited a 2007 quote from Orbán while making it clear he does not wish to become involved in Hungary’s election campaign. Meanwhile, Hungarians living in Sweden also weighed in on whether their new home is as unliveable as Orbán claims.
Orbán and Kristersson clash
The controversy began when Viktor Orbán, citing an article from German outlet Die Welt, claimed during last weekend’s “training camp” of the Fighter’s Club that over 280 teenage girls in Sweden were facing proceedings for being used by criminal gangs to commit murders, taking advantage of the nation’s age of criminal responsibility being 15.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called Orbán’s statement a lie, adding he was not surprised, as his Hungarian counterpart is actively dismantling the rule of law in Hungary and is already preparing for the 2026 elections. In response, Orbán stated that Sweden’s government is weak, allowing barbarism to thrive, while his political community in Hungary is concerned for Swedes due to migration. Swedish authorities, when asked by Hungarian media, clarified that only four underage girls are currently facing proceedings for serious crimes.
Sweden has offered much help
Touching on the theme of friendship, Kristersson responded sharply, listing multiple instances in which Sweden has supported Hungary. He began his X post by stating that he is aware Orbán will face a serious challenger in 2026 but does not wish his country to be entangled in political games. He stressed that Swedes have long supported Hungarians:
- Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg saved tens of thousands of Jewish Hungarians with protective passports, although he was later taken to Moscow and disappeared there.
One of the world’s saddest sights is found in the Jewish quarter of Budapest
- After Russian (!) tanks crushed the 1956 Hungarian revolution, Sweden took in fighters and dissidents.
- Today, roughly 40,000 people of Hungarian descent live in Sweden.
Why befriend Putin?
Kristersson also made it clear that democratic nations must support Ukraine today—otherwise, tomorrow, another country might be targeted. “That’s why we question you sitting down for coffee with the leader of the country that crushed Hungary’s 1956 uprising and is now attacking your neighbour, Ukraine,” he added.
- Violent clashes between Swedish and Hungarian fans in Győr during Conference League match – PHOTOS, VIDEOS
Finally, Kristersson threw Orbán’s own 2007 words back at him: “Oil may come from the East, but freedom always comes from the West.” He concluded by wishing the Hungarian nation well.
Orbán: The Swedish people are our friends, but the government is not
“The Swedish people are our friends. But your government is no friend of Hungary,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday in a message to the Swedish prime minister posted on X.
In his post, Orbán listed seven cases when Sweden had acted against Hungary. He said “a quick reminder”, stating “you intervened against Hungary in the child protection law infringement case”.
Defence of sovereignty
He added “you voted to exclude most Hungarian universities from Erasmus and Horizon and to freeze more than half of our EU funds” and the Swedish government “intervened against Hungary in court when we challenged the Commission’s discriminatory Erasmus/Horizon decision”.
- Is the Hungarian army purchasing new, Swedish fighter jets?
He also said that the Swedish government continuously pushed the next phase of Article 7, with a Swedish minister even making remarks such as: “We must raise our voice to the child.”
He said Sweden’s EU minister had vowed to “put additional pressure on Hungary”, simply because Hungary does not support Ukraine’s EU accession.
And Orbán added that “you were among the governments that pushed the Migration Pact through, despite the previous Council decision that called for unanimity regarding this very sensitive subject. This puts Hungary’s security at direct risk.”
Orbán said: “In Hungary, we would call this behaviour many things, but friendly is certainly not one of them”.
- Click here for more articles about Sweden.
“Every country has its problems. In Sweden, migration is one. Yet unlike you, we do not meddle in the sovereignty or internal affairs of others, and do not lecture other countries — we do, however, continue to worry for you and the Swedish people,” he added.
What do local Hungarians think?
Szeretlek Magyarország interviewed three Hungarians living in Sweden to find out if Orbán’s claims about its unliveability hold any truth. It’s worth noting that patterns of emigration suggest where life is perceived to be safer or more manageable. While few Hungarians move to Russia or Romania, many opt to work, settle, and live in western EU nations, including Sweden. For Hungary, this brain drain is a serious concern, with domestic salaries failing to lure them home.
Excellent education
Zsuzsa Hegedűs praised the Swedish education system, highlighting its success in integrating classes where nearly half the students are foreign. She has not experienced issues with public safety, though crime linked to immigration has risen in the past 10–15 years. She acknowledged that criminal groups do exploit minors, as the age of criminal responsibility is 15. A debate is underway to reduce it to 13 or 14. Hegedűs believes if Orbán visited Sweden, he would only meet happy people.
We don’t walk alone after dark
Ágnes Juhász called Orbán’s claims “nonsense.” She described Swedes as disciplined, polite, and inclusive. While cultural tensions exist—understandably in such a diverse society—she said she doesn’t feel threatened or afraid, though does avoid walking alone at night.
Safe—even in so-called no-go zones
As a man, Attila Cséti had a different experience. He deliberately visited an area labelled a no-go zone and found nothing alarming—just great food, to which he regularly returns. In his view, public safety is such that even items left unattended could still be found in the same place months later. Here’s his video on the no-go zone:
To read or share this article in Hungarian, click here: Helló Magyar
Kristersson responded by accusing Orbán of undermining Hungary’s rule of law and criticizing his ongoing diplomatic ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He pointed to Sweden’s historical support for Hungary as crucial context for framing Orbán’s accusations as ungrateful. Kristersson seized the opportunity to emphasize Sweden’s commitment to democratic values, contrasting these with Orbán’s increasingly authoritarian policies.
However, the claim that Hungary is dismantling its rule of law is deeply contentious. Orbán’s government defends its reforms as sovereign decisions, vital to Hungary’s national interests. Critics, including Sweden, argue these reforms weaken democratic institutions and the rule of law, particularly in areas like judicial independence, media freedom, and minority rights. Orbán, on the other hand, frames these criticisms as external interference in Hungary’s domestic affairs, portraying himself as a defender of Hungarian sovereignty against the EU’s encroachments.
At the same time, Sweden faces its own challenges related to migration (Orbán’s statement appeared to be based on a misinterpretation or maybe even exaggeration of an article from Die Welt), including gang violence in cities like Malmö. Crime rates vary widely by region, and the complexities of migration, integration, and socioeconomic factors are far more nuanced than his rhetoric suggests.
The clash between Orbán and Kristersson underscores broader EU tensions over sovereignty, democracy, and governance. Orbán’s long-standing ties with Russia, despite its historical suppression of Hungary during the 1956 uprising, are a major point of contention within the EU. While Orbán maintains these relations for political and mostly economic reasons, many EU members, including Sweden, are sharply critical of his stance. Kristersson, in contrast, has positioned Sweden as a staunch supporter of Ukraine and democratic values.
Yet there’s an unsettling hypocrisy in this entire discourse. The EU and its leaders, including Kristersson, relentlessly focus on Russia as the embodiment of authoritarianism and geopolitical aggression. But in doing so, they often overlook the history of other European powers, particularly Germany, whose role in WWII and its post-war actions remain a lingering shadow. Germany’s historical aggression and the atrocities committed during the war seem to be conveniently forgotten, even as it now stands as the EU’s largest economic powerhouse (well, it ain’t what it used to be, forgive me the grammar) and an unquestioned member of the European order. The selective vilification of Russia, while Germany’s past remains largely unexamined, raises important questions about the consistency of EU moral and political narratives. So, I’m simply pointing out this hypocrisy without delving into the broader actions of the EU or its member states.
Orbán, with his pro-Russian stance, may be criticized for aligning with a nation responsible for devastating European history, but this rhetorical double standard exposes the EU’s reluctance to confront its own contradictions. The selective approach to Russia and the lack of critical reflection on Germany’s past actions suggest an uncomfortable reality: that Europe’s moral high ground is often more about political expediency than consistent values.
This hypocrisy is not lost on the public. Orbán’s critics argue that by focusing so heavily on Russia’s current transgressions, EU leaders conveniently sidestep uncomfortable historical truths. Meanwhile, Orbán uses this same historical narrative to reinforce his populist, anti-EU stance, positioning Hungary as a defender of national sovereignty against a Europe that he frames as hypocritical and inconsistent.
The dispute between Orbán and Kristersson, then, is more than a mere diplomatic clash. It is a microcosm of the broader EU divide over values, sovereignty, and how Europe should engage with its past and present. Orbán’s half true claims about Sweden’s crime rates and his unyielding ties to Russia might weaken his credibility, while Kristersson’s moral defense of Sweden and Ukraine risks overlooking Sweden’s own issues with crime and integration.
The selective focus on Russia, while ignoring the more uncomfortable aspects of European history, deepens the hypocrisy of this ongoing struggle. Both leaders use this dispute to score points with their domestic audiences, but in doing so, they risk further fracturing EU unity and distracting from more pressing issues like migration, crime, and economic stability. In doing so, overlooking the interests of the common man. Again. That’s the way I see it anyway.
Peter is implying that Russia has some kind of right to act as an authoritarian aggressive state because someone else did the same thing in the past and specifically Nazi Germany. Peter does that mean that because there were Nazi extermination camps that that would somehow excuse the Russians from doing the same? Germany has had an exemplary democratic and peaceful record since WWII and is a peaceful democracy. My God where does the sick idea come from to excuse mass murder and aggression against other states because someone else did this in the past. We might as well go further back and talk about Genghis Khan. There is no “unsettling hyprocrisy” in condemning Russia and excusing its’ mass murder and aggression. What is unsettling and disgusting is to try to give a pass to the crimes of Nazi state of the 21st century which is Putin’s Russia.
Typo should read “There is no “unsettling hyprocrisy” in condemning Russia and condemning its’ mass murder and aggression”.
The biggest lie Orban made in this article is that Hungary does not meddle in the sovereignty or internal affairs of other countries. I saw on Wednesday with my own eyes a bus going across the border where the E75 crosses at Roszke into Serbia with the words “Keszenleti Rendorseg” (Riot Police). Yes that lying bastard sent Hungary’s riot police into Serbia to suppress Serbians. He sent more than 70 commandos into Republika Srpska to smuggle Dodic out. Dodic did not leave but American intelligence advised the Croatians of the Hungarian plan to move Dodic through Croatia. Orban has been funnelling money to Marine Le Pen in France and to the far right Vox Party in Spain. He runs the Matthias Corvinus institute as a right-wing propaganda outlet to influence politics in Europe. Orban is up to his neck in influencing the internal affairs of other countries.
This reads like a New York Slimes hit piece.
The minute you see the “far right” epithet, you know what time it is. LOL!
In honesty I should make a correction here. The bus I saw on the Serbian side of the border must have had to do with operations to stop migrants at that spot on the border which has been reported (Sep 16). What took me by surprise was that it was on the Serbian side at the crossing. I stand by the rest of my blog. It’s interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
Sweden IS unlivable.
In a half a generation it went from an ordered, cohesive, proud Switzerland of Scandinavia to a crime- and terrorist-ridden hellhole where they throw you in the slammer for publishing the nationalities of violent criminals while native Swedish women resort to dyeing their blonde hair black and even putting on headscarves just to be able to leave their homes and walk down the street.
Kristo… whatever his name is (who cares anyway!) really needs to pipe down. If he had any self-awareness, he’d hang his head in shame. What a betrayal of the legacy of the Viking race. And all for what: a pay on the back from super-rich foreigner, globalist megalomaniacs.
Nice bullsh#t as usual Steiner.
Try harder
Alright, Larry, time to put up or shut up. We’ve all heard about Orbán and his secret oil deals (just to name one), but you, you little know-it-all, haven’t shared a damn thing to back it up. You’ve got photos, right? Maybe something you posted on X? You now have the opportunity to do more than merely write accusations. Eyewitness, no? Or was your phone battery just dead, nobody there to back up what you saw? Share the truth, make us happy, or just me. If you’ve got the goods, now is the time. Don’t hold back. Let it all spill out. Be a hero, just once in your life. You can do it, you really can, get your Watergate! But hey, don’t bite too hard on your Gollum ring, alright? Dental costs, you know. You are just sure it’s probably all the Fidesz crew, aaaahh, guilty of everything, aaaahh, nasty. Oh, but wait, we’ve got no proof of what you’ve claimed to witness, right? Just more empty noise, as always. LOL.
Peter see my reply to my post. I did make a careless mistake not to look up what was happening at the border and for that I apologize. I saw the riot police who were there stopping migrants at the border. That in itself was interesting. I came back on Friday and it took almost an hour and a half to cross back into Hungary. On the Hungarian side they were checking trunks of maybe four out of five cars and opening the backs of every van. Attached is a BBC article about migrants clashing with Hungarian riot police.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-34272242
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