31-year-old Mackenzie Michalski came for a holiday to Budapest but she went missing on 5 November. She did not return to her Airbnb apartment, so her friends and the Hungarian police started searching for her. Even the congressman of her electoral district in the USA wrote to secretary Blinken to conduct a more effective search with the help of the U.S. and Hungarian authorities. Tragic news about her emerged this afternoon.
According to police.hu, the police officers of Budapest’s 6th district measured multiple suspicious information about Ms Michalski’s disappearence. Therefore, they did not exclude that the American woman fell victim to a murderer.
They identified a man who was seen together with the young woman in several places in Budapest’s downtown before her disappearance. They arrested the suspect in front of his 7th district apartment.
M. L. T. is 37 years old and an Irish national.
He confessed his crime to the police and showed the place where he hid Ms Michalski’s body. The Irish national will remain in custody.
UPDATE (7.09 P.M.): the Budapest police headquarters announced in a Facebook post that they would hold a press conference sharing further details about the tragic murder on Saturday.
We offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends. May Kenzie rest in peace.
31-year-old Mackenzie Michalski (going by Kenzie for her friends) was on holiday in Budapest and stayed in an Airbnb apartment in Budapest’s 6th district, Terézváros. However, she never returned after visiting the capital’s famous ruin pub, the Szimpla Kert on Kazinczy Street. Here are the last snaps her friends received shortly after midnight. UPDATE: Tragic news arrived about her today afternoon, HERE is our article.
Mackenzie Michalski is 31 years old, 165 cm tall, weighs 45 kilos, and her hair is brown. She has been missing for three days. Policekeep searching after her and her friends are also very committed to finding her: they even created a Facebook group which has more than 3,3 thousand members. Furthermore, they shared her last snaps from Szimpla Kert, a famous Hungarian ruin pub in the 7th district of Budapest:
Police keep searching for the missing American woman in Budapest
The activity level is quite high in the group, there are lots of people who try to find Kenzie. Some are suspicious of Szimpla Kert, quoting reviews saying that girls were drugged there by having powder mixed into their drinks.
Others try to remain cool and do what they can. According to an update posted 15 hours ago, the Hungarian police extended the investigation from a local level to the capital. A part-time employee of the publisher of the update said police collected “several footages from both Szimpla and the streets near the bar.” Finally, the investigation is one of the top priorities of the authorities, “with over a dozen ground-level policemen who actively collect every data available.”
Photo: PrtScr/Youtube
U.S. Congress representative wrote a letter for Secretary Blinken
Timothy M. Kennedy, the congressional representative of the 26th district in New York, wrote a letter to Secretary Anthony Blinken yesterday. He explained the situation to him and said the Department of State should work directly with the U.S. Embassy in Hungary and the Budapest civil law enforcement agency “Rendőrség”.
“Her family and friends are pleading for help to find her – as am I, as one of the Members of the Congress who represent our region. As you know, time is essential in these cases, and a coordinated search between the United States and Hungary is necessary to expeditiously bring Ms. Michalski home”, Representative Kennedy concluded in his letter.
Family on their way to Budapest
According to a news report uploaded on YouTube 6 hours ago, Ms Michalski is a nurse practician in Providence St. Vincent and a seasoned traveller. She travelled to Budapest with a friend but they split on 4 November. She would have flown to Amsterdam on 5 November, but she never checked out from her Airbnb or showed up at the airport.
Her friends do not think she made it back to her room. According to the video, her family is on their way to Hungary and her fellow nurses have already checked Budapest hospitals.
Funds already have been raised for her and her family to hire a private investigator.
Distinguishing features
If you have any information about her whereabouts, please contact the local Hungarian police: at +36-1 461-8100 or +36-1-443-5000 and the United States Embassy: at +36-1-475-4400.
She wore a black hoodie zip-up, black sneakers or brown ankle sorrel boots and possibly a black or green hat. Distinguishing features are her gauged ear lobes, and tattoos (L arm, L foot – Omega Ω, Right foot – Buddha).
As a friend of the new president of the United States, Hungary has a huge and unprecedented economic opportunity, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a weekly interview with public radio on Friday.
13th month pension in Hungary remains
The prime minister said there was a direct link between major changes in the world and the finances of Hungarian families as well as the economic outlook for the next few years.
“Things inconcievable a few months ago will become possible next year,” Orbánsaid. Referring to the government’s Demján Sándor Programme, he said it was “unprecedented assistance” to small companies, and it was directly linked to opportunities in global politics. International developments have also created opportunities for cheaper housing and will allow for increasing the purchasing power of wages and a continued 13th month pension programme, he said. “All those will be possible because … we understood global political developments correctly and made preparations accordingly,” he added.
Photo: MTI
Orbán: “war our greatest problem”
Orbán said the war in Ukraine was “our greatest problem” and insisted that without the war “inflation would not have run so high” and energy prices “would not be where they are”, adding that without the EU sanctions against Russia the European economies would be in a much better state.
Had the Democrats won the US elections, Hungary should have needed to prepare a “war budget” next year and would have spent “not only two percent of GDP but three or four … on military purposes”. The Hungarian government, however, “had known that if Donald Trump wins they could prepare a peace budget,” Orbán said. That is why, he said, the government had requested from parliament to wait with tabling the draft budget for the US election to take place, “to see if 2025 would be a peace or a war year, and submit a budget draft accordingly”.
Talking about economic neutraliy and “a new economic policy adapting to these changes,” Orbán said that Hungary’s 21-point action plan would bring positive changes to people’s everyday lives.
EU summit in Budapest today. Photo: MTI
Hungary’s aims in line with the Americans
Orbán acknowledged debate over the “American-Chinese matter”, but said Hungary’s aims were really in line with the Americans’.
Donald Trump and the Americans want to do good business with the Chinese, and we don’t want to do any differently, just reach good agreements, he added.
“Everybody wants that, so it isn’t necessary to take one or the other disputing side. Why not take our own side?” Orban asked. “We have our own Hungarian interests, the Hungarian people are important for us, and we have to do what is right for those interests,” he said, adding that was how Hungary needed to politicise in both the West and the East.
Orbán insisted that great achievements and devopment, and “high quality life based on our own performance” required a commitment to a Hungarian identity and Hungarian interests “to guide us through the political universe”. While “some say we are too small”, Orbán said “we are not small, this is a great nation”, adding that he had seen successful countries of a similar size to Hungary that “cleverly made friends in the world and then turned it into economic gains”.
Trump’s victory is “such a great win that it is visible not only from the Moon but from Mars,” Orbán said. He went on to say that if Trump had won the election in 2020 “these nightmares two years would not have happened; there would have been no war because America would have had a strong leader to make the necessary deals in time.” “That did not happen and we have been paying a terrible price for the past two years; Europeans, with one or two exceptions such as Slovakia or the Vatican, have supported that bad thing,” he said.
Trump seeking peace
Orbán said that Donald Trump, the next US president was “obviously seeking peace rather than war, anti-migration policies rather than migration and family protection rather than gender.” Trump’s policies will “make a change in the world and us Europeans will have to react,” he added.
Concerning the war in Ukraine, Orbán said “military defeat” was “obvious”, and said the US “will get out of this war rather than encourage it”.
“They say a lot of things about Donald Trump, but nobody questions that he doesn’t start wars. He hates war, he’s a real businessman,” Orbán said.
“Europe alone will not be able to finance this war … there are some that would want to do so, but there is an increasing number of those that used to be loud and now silent, and those that cautiously call for adapting to the new situation,” Orbán said.
“And here we are that say that the moment has come to quickly switch from war to peace,” he said, noting that the war had caused huge damage “to the world, Europe, and Hungary.”
The switch from war to peace is under way, Orbán said. “That’s what made the meeting [of the European Political Community] in Budapest so exciting, it has been the largest diplomatic event of Hungary’s history,” Orbán said, and thanked Budapest citizens for “putting up with it”.
“Peace needs strength”, says Orbán
Put to him that one of the warring parties in Ukraine was saying that “peace needs strength, and strength is needed to get to peace”, Orbán said: “That’s a good idea if you’re strong but not so good if the other side is stronger.” He praised Ukraine for the heroic fight they put up in the past two years. “Whether their leaders have steered them in the right direction is for Ukrainians to decide.”
“Europe’s greatest problem is that those that should be consulted are being ignored,” Orbán said.
“If you don’t go to Moscow, Kyiv or Beijing, if you critise and despise Donald Trump rather than treat him as the incoming US president, how are you going to make plans for the future?” Orbán asked.
Referring to his own visits to Kyiv and Moscow, and talks with the presidents of China and Turkiye as well as with US President Biden and Trump, then presidential candidate, Orbán said he had written a subsequent report to his European peers. “Now the situation is exactly what we could foresee … no leader should say they are surprised or expected otherwise, as a result of the Hungarian peace mission all this could be foretold,” he said, adding “not because we can see the future or we are good at guessing the numbers on the lottery: it is because if you communicate you will understand what could come next.”
The next period will be about making swift, important decisions “with a high risk of errors”, and the EPC had come together to support each other in “everyone making their own good decisions,” he said.
He said they looked forward to a meeting with Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank and former prime minister of Italy, about his analysis of the European economy.
European companies pay too much for gas, electricity
The root of the problem is that European companies are currently paying four times the US price for gas and three time the price for electricity, he said.
Orbán said such a competitiveness disadvantage could not be offset by any other measure.
New energy regulations are needed “that don’t ruin European companies and families,” Orbán said. Hungarian families are paying the least for gas and electricity in Europe, “and that is a competitive edge for Hungary that is hard to appreciate until one enters the international arena,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hungary is facing a challenge in finding a market for Hungarian products, he said.
Regarding illegal migration, Orbán said Brussels was the “centre of judicial activism supporting illegal migration”, so change must be achieved there.
Should migration be in the hands of national courts, “it would be easy”, Orbán said. “The trouble is that Brussels interferes in the procedure … that’s the head of the snake.”
He pointed to Italy as an example, “where the government issued excellent laws to curb migration, but the Italian judiciary sent them to Brussels citing concerns that they were incompatible with European law.” Predictably, Brussels then “rejected the excellent regulations made by Italy’s government,” Orbán said.
“They are doing the same to us, but we have rebelled,” he added.
National Consultation
Speaking about the latest National Consultation survey, Orbán said the government’s weight in Brussels was depending on its backing in Hungary. “I can rebel in Brussels because the Hungarian government has the backing of the majority of sensible people who don’t want migration but who stand for a family-friendly government, peace, sensible energy prices and the 13th month pension.”
“It is best if people know in Hungary that, should Brussels’s policy be put through in Hungary, all families would be worse off, and the government needs people to clearly express their support in order to protect itself and families.”
“We need stable positions, and the people can give us that,” he said, calling on people to fill out the consultation.
Read also:
VIDEO: How rude! Romanian President showed his back to PM Orbán for 20 seconds – read more HERE
In October, “the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned 275 individuals and entities involved in supplying Russia with advanced technology and equipment that it desperately needs to support its war machine.” One of them is the Hungarian Bence Horváth. Allegedly, he conspired with others to illegally export U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian government end-users without a license.
Hungarian nationals, companies helping Russia
We wrote HEREthat Mr Horváth (46) was arrested in August at San Francisco International Airport entering the U.S.A. He is a resident of Spain and is believed to have begun negotiations in January 2023 with a small U.S. radio distribution company. Their objective was to purchase and export U.S.-made military-grade radios and related accessories to Russia.
In the months that followed, Horváth successfully acquired 200 military-grade radios, which he intended to ship to Russia via a Latvian transport service. However, the attempt was thwarted when U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the shipment, preventing the radios from reaching Russian users.
Horváth is said to have personally arranged the purchase and smuggling of U.S.-origin radio communications technology to Russian government end-users, utilising a network of subsidiaries in Spain, Serbia, Hungary, and Latvia.
Putin and Orbán in July in Moscow. Photo: FB/Orbán
According to a new sanctions list of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Horváth allegedly helped in procurement activities involving Russia-based ZAO Budaphone Ltd. (Budaphone). Budaphone is a Russian Ministry of Defense contractor and shares an address with Russia-based Promsvyazradio. The latter company manufactures printed circuits and radio transmitting equipment. The firm also imported high-priority and dual-use technology into Russia. Moreover, a Serbian company, Ventrade DOO, has also exported military-grade radios to Promsvyazradio.
“Budaphone and Promsvyazradio are being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy. Ventrade DOO is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Promsvyazradio”, the U.S. Department of the Treasury wrote.
Military radio in use. Illustration. Photo: depositphotos.com
Serbian, and Russian companies in the business, all in Hungarian ownership
According to 444.hu, the radios smuggled to Russia despite the sanctions were used by the Russian police, military, and the National Guard of Russia. The key figure of the issue is not Bence Horváth, 444.hu wrote, but his mother, Margarita Horváth. Mrs Horváth was the head of the HEPA office in Moscow. The office opened in 2019, and HEPA stands for “Hungarian Export Promotion Agency”.
However, 444.hu wrote there was no news of whether the Hungarian state did anything about the issue. The news portal reported that Mrs Horváth had not been arrested. It also wrote that she is the owner of the Russia-based Promsvyazradio. Furthermore, the Serbia-based Ventrade DOO is also in Hungarian ownership.
USA committed to stopping Russia’s war machine
The new list of the USA sanctioned 275 individuals and entities involved in supplying Russia with advanced technology and equipment. The countries involved include India, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, and Hungary.
“The United States and our allies will continue to take decisive action across the globe to stop the flow of critical tools and technologies that Russia needs to wage its illegal and immoral war against Ukraine,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.
Read also:
Fools of ’56? Hungarian researcher sparks controversy over Heroes of the Revolution – read more HERE
Ambassador David Pressman arrived in Hungary in 2022, and clashes between him and the Orbán-led Hungarian government have become permanent. Following Trump’s victory, government-close influencers and strongmen wrote that he should go home. One even said he should take his influencers, Ursula von der Leyen and his unnamed “wife”, as well. Pressman held a reception on Wednesday at the US Embassy in Budapest to celebrate democracy, in his words. He also criticised the Orbán cabinet, saying they gambled the US-Hungary relationship during this election. And the consequences are severe.
Fidesz strongman says Pressman should take home his “cute little wife” with von der Leyen
Zsolt Bayer, the owner of party membership card No. 5 in PM Orbán’s Fidesz party, titledhis article in government-close Magyar Nemzet, “Pressman, go home!” He wrote about the deep state, woke, cancel culture, and LGBTQ, claiming that the American deep state tried to interfere in Hungary’s domestic policies with the help of Pressman. Bayer called the ambassador a viceroy and said the USA would return to the path of normalcy following Trump’s victory.
Bayer also said Pressman should take his influencers, press, von der Leyen and his “cute little wife”. “It’s over!”, he concluded.
Ambassador Pressman (c). Photo: FB/Embassy of the USA
Hungary suffers from PM Orbán’s gambling problem
Yesterday evening, the American ambassador invited the Hungarian press to the Embassy of the United States “to celebrate democracy”. He said he does not do politics and will never comment on partisan politics.
He reminded the participants that they sat in a room where 35 years before President George H.W. Bush had met with young Viktor Orbán hoping for a partnership between the two countries. “It was the promise of democracy that brought our leaders together on that evening, and we gather again in this room tonight to celebrate democracy”.
Photo: DNH, Alpár Kató
Concerning the presidential election, he slammed PM Orbán for gambling “with the U.S.-Hungary relationship. A relationship that has been altered by his gamesmanship. The damage caused runs deeper than a four-year term of a President, because it is rooted in an impulse to transform something big and lasting, a relationship between Allies – between strong nations – into something smaller and fleeting.” Later, he added what Orbán did was “gambling with the alliance that secures your safety, like a stack of chips in a game of poker”. He highlighted that Hungary’s allies saw that gambling and added Hungary must swallow somehow the cost of that gambling. “Gambling with our alliance, in the long run, will always be a losing proposition”, he said.
Trump won – Orbán won. But will Hungary win? And what could have happened if Trump had lost? Source: Facebook / Orbán Viktor
U.S.-Hungary relationship will not be the same
Pressman underscored that no alliances can last for long because gambling will deteriorate trust between the nations, and that kills longstanding commitments.
He also said that the American elections will not change Hungary. “I know American elections matter beyond our borders, but they do not determine your destiny – you do”, he concluded.
Photo: DNH, Alpár Kató
The Hungarian government keeps repeating that the economic problems Hungary faces are caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the emerging blocks in world trade and politics. Since Trump promised solutions, they suggested that our problems could be solved if Trump won. For example, the Orbán cabinet always submitted and accepted the country’s next budget before June (the 2024 budget was accepted in May 2023). This year was the only exception when Orbán said they would only discuss the budget in November because they wanted to wait for the outcome of the American presidential elections.
Pressman giving an interview to Euronews and government-close Hír TV. He slammed the latter in his speech, too. Photo: FB/Embassy of the USA
Read also:
What can PM Orbán and Hungary gain from Trump’s victory? – read more HERE
Trump’s victory threatens forint with collapse, Orbán cabinet happy and congratulates – details in THISarticle
An American woman disappeared from Budapest on 5 November. Her friends have been searching for her ever since. She was on a holiday in the Hungarian capital with one of her friends.
American woman went missing
According to a Facebook post shared by her friends, she was last seen on 4 November at Barack & Szilva restaurant in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest at 10 PM. Her friends said they received some photos from her shortly after that. The snaps were taken at Szimpla Kert, a Budapest ruin pub.
She wore a black hoodie zip-up, black sneakers or brown ankle sorrel boots and possibly a black or green hat. Distinguishing features are her gauged ear lobes, and tattoos (L arm, L foot – Omega Ω, Right foot – Buddha).
Mackenzie Michalski is 31 years old, 165 cm tall and weighs 45 kilos. Her hair colour is brown.
New information about her and some photos she made before her disappearance in THIS article!
Photo: FB/Mol Lee
According to Bors, a Hungarian tabloid, her friend travelled home and realized that Ms Michalski (goes by Kenzie) was missing after the owner of the Airbnb called because Kenzie left her belongings in the apartment.
Here are some more photos of her:
If you have any information about her whereabouts, please contact the local Hungarian police: +36-1 461-8100 or +36-1-443-5000 and the United States Embassy: +36-1-475-4400.
UPDATE: Here’s a video of Kenzie made by her friends:
In the first presidential term of President Trump, he did not know who Orbán was, even though he was the Hungarian prime minister, the first leader who endorsed him after announcing his candidacy. Times changed. Trump regularly praised Orbán’s policies in his speeches and interviews before the election. Thus, Orbán can expect probably the best American-Hungarian relations in history. Is that a realistic expectation? Will he receive support from Washington, or will Trump slam his China policies? What about the Republicans who see Orbán as a national security threat?
We wrote in THISarticle that PM Orbánmight become a policymaker in the United States thanks to his close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump. Based on informants of Szabad Európa, Trump is the kind of person who gives great value to personal relationships, and since Orbán always told him what he wanted to hear, their nexus is probably the best in history if we take just US presidents and Hungarian prime ministers.
Will Orbán be as popular in the USA as Kossuth was?
The only exception may be Lajos Kossuth, immensely popular as a freedom fighter and an advocate of civil rights in the USA after the Russian-Habsburg oppression of the 1848-1849 freedom fight. Kossuth spent almost a year in the USA popularising the Hungarian cause, average Americans welcomed him as a hero and even President Lincoln allegedly took one of his most well-known messages in his famous Gettysburg Address from Kossuth.
Orbán and Trump in 2019. Trump did not know Orbán then. Photo: Facebook.com/orbanviktor
Kossuth said in 1852 that “the spirit of our age is Democracy. All for the people, and all by the people. Nothing about the people without the people – That is Democracy!”. Lincoln toldpeople after the Battle of Gettysburg that “these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Trump’s relationship with Orbán may be in another universe
Historians note that President George H. W. Bush regularly asked the opinion of the first democratically-elected Hungarian prime minister, József Antall, about Central and Eastern European issues. However, PM Orbán probably hopes for more concerning the new Trump era.
According to Szabad Európa, the Trumpist wing of the Republican Party considers Orbán a hero because of the Hungarian government’s “anti-woke”, “anti-gender” and “pro-family” policies. The leader of an American Republican think tank said there was a religious, right-wing voter group, the new rightists, who regard anti-gender and anti-LGBTQ policies as the most important. Trump and other Republican leaders established good connections with Orbán because of the Hungarian prime minister’s efficient struggles on the issue.
A fan at Tusványos Summer University in Transylvania. Photo: Facebook/Viktor Orbán
A government-close think tank’s employee told Szabad Európa that the Hungarian government’s family policy was in one package with being “anti-woke”, and anti-LGBTQ, just like strengthening the Christian middle class. Therefore, it was attractive for Trump and VP candidate Vance.
Orbán tried to incorporate Hungarian experts and companies into the Trump team. A former Hungarian diplomat stationed in Washington confirmed there might be people paid by the Hungarian government who work for Trump-close think tanks. One of them is the KÓD Market Research Institute. KÓD plays an important role in Hungary as a subcontractor.
Some Republican strongmen see Orbán as a national security threat
A Republican Senate official, on the other hand, told Szabad Európa that Republican officials travelling, and giving addresses in Hungary did not get a full view of the Hungarian government’s policies. They only learned about anti-LGBTQ but were not told what the Orbán cabinet stands for e.g. concerning the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Vance is also a fan of Orbán. Will he remain one in office? Photo: FB/JD Vance
Furthermore, what the Hungarian government does concerning taxes or the economy is the exact opposite of what Republicans believe should be done. Therefore, cooperation in policies is unimaginable. Zsuzsanna Végh, an analyst of the German Marshall Fund, believes Orbán can serve as an example for Trump of how a democratically-elected leader can reduce checks and balances and the rule of law and create an illiberal state while remaining a member of the democratic world.
What is important for Orbán?
Szabad Európa learned that most experts believe the Hungarian government does not want more than “positive silence” concerning the Hungarian-American relationships. They want the White House to let them do what they did before. That means the Orbán cabinet will not struggle to sign a new double taxation treatyor help Hungarian citizens born abroad to get US visas.
Végh said Orbán’s importance will increase in the EU thanks to Trump’s victory, but there are many conflicts of interest between the Trump-led USA and Hungary. One of the most important is the relationship with China.
China will be a red flag for the new US administration. Photo: FB/Orbán
Some Republicans believe Orbán is a national security threat due to his Russian, and Chinese relations
The Orbán cabinet regularly argues that Hungary, as a commercially open and small country short in capital, constantly needs foreign investments. Therefore, they trade with everybody, thus remaining “economically neutral”. That is why some Republicans regard Orbán as a national security threat.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell slammed the Hungarian government’s close economic relationships with China and Hungary’s closeness with Iran. Furthermore, he believes Orbán helps Moscow by baulking EU and Transatlantic initiatives against Russia’s illegal aggression in Ukraine.
McConnell added that Trump was charmed by Orbán, but he and his supporters are in a minority in the Republican party, and serious people are not concerned with Orbán. He said Russians and the Chinese use Hungary as a backdoor to infiltrate the USA. He said nobody wanted to anger Trump by criticising Orbán, but they do not believe in the Hungarian prime minister.
China, Ukraine, Russia
A senior employee of a Trump-close think tank said the USA needed a stabilised Europe with a free Ukraine to turn their full attention to China. But Hungary’s China policies are problematic, and the Trump administration will raise that question soon.
A Hungarian diplomat answering Szabad Európa’s questions said Hungary should reduce its relationship with China to a pragmatic level, but that needs a well-prepared professional team, which Orbán lacks. He said the Orbán cabinet should, without promoting it, convince Trump that Hungary needs Chinese investments. It is a major question whether the Hungarian government will be able to achieve that goal in the next few years.
UPDATE: Hungarian opposition parties’ reactions
Hungary’s opposition parties have responded to Republican nominee Donald Trump’s victory at the US presidential election. László Toroczkai, the leader of the Our Homeland (Mi Hazánk) party, congratulated Trump on X, and called on sitting Hungarian
Ambassador David Pressmann to “pack his bags”.
Jobbik congratulated Trump on Facebook, saying they trusted that after his inauguration, the Russia-Ukraine war would be ended swiftly “as he promised”, and the conflict in the Middle East would be swiftly resolved.
Deputy party leader Koloman Brenner said in a statement that “Trump’s election could lead to even stricter economic and political measures in the US’s China policy, which would affect the whole of Europe”. “Trump’s victory could bring gestures in US-Hungarian relations, but they are not expected to be anything but superficial. Diplomatic relations have reached rock bottom … and that will hinder Hungary in pursuing an independent foreign policy focusing on our own interests,” Brenner said.
Momentum leader Márton Tompos said Trump’s economic and political goals were the contrary to Hungary’s interests. “The plans he has floated could rock world trade and he is expected to sharpen conflicts rather than smoothing them,” he said, calling on Europe to take steps to “resolve Ukraine’s situation … as it will be the main player to shoulder that responsibility in the future”.
Tisza leader Péter Magyar congratulated Trump in a statement, saying: “America has decided. We congratulate President Trump and the members of the Senate and Congress!” The US is one of Hungary’s most important allies and economic partners, he said. “The Tisza party is ready to cooperate with the new administration and to further develop ties between our countries.”
Read also:
The background of the Trump-Orbán bromance: the Hungarian prime minister says what he wants to hear – read more HERE
The Hungarian forint is at a 2-year low against the American dollar following Donald Trump’s decisive victory. All regional currencies are struggling because the strong dollar is bad news for emerging currencies like the Czech koruna or the Polish zloty. Meanwhile, PM Viktor Orbán, who established a strong relationship with Trump in the past few years, congratulated the newly-elected President and talked about a “spectacular victory” and “the greatest comeback in Western political history”. FM Szijjártó expressed hopes towards a ‘top shape’ cooperation with America again.
Trump’s victory did not help the forint. The American dollar is at a 2-year-high against the Hungarian national currency and all emerging currencies are struggling in the region. The USD was at a historic peak against the forint on 8 October 2022 because of the economic difficulties following the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine.
The euro is also at a 22-month peak against the forint. The last time the EU currency was stronger was in December 2022 with 418. The exchange rate is now at 410/EUR but it was 412 earlier today.
Photo: FB/Orbán
PM Orbán congratulates, talks about “spectacular victory”
Prime Minister Viktor Orbáncommented on the US presidential election on Wednesday and said “I see a spectacular victory, perhaps the greatest comeback in Western political history, a huge fight”. Speaking about Donald Trump, Orbán said that the Republican politician had first faced prison and a confiscation of his assets. He later faced an assassination attempt while “the whole media world of the US turned against him”, Orbán said, adding that “he has still won.”
He said it gave a great encouragement to everyone “who believes in will, struggle and perseverance, and a hope for peace for the world.”
It was hoped early this year that pro-peace forces would become a majority in the Western world by the end of the year and would defeat the pro-war camp, the prime minister said, adding that “there is now a great chance” to achieve that. He expressed hope for the economy to gain heat and for US-Hungary relations “to return to their golden era.”
Photo: Facebook/Orbán Balázs
“We have a number of plans that we can carry out together with President Donald Trump in the coming years,” Orbán said in a video published on Facebook. Interestingly, Orbán was addressed as President in the Reels video.
US-Hungary cooperation can get into a top shape
“The decision of American voters gives us good hopes that political cooperation between the United States and Hungary could again get into a top shape,” the foreign minister said on Facebook on Wednesday morning.
Péter Szijjártó highlighted that bilateral political relations had been at their peak during the first presidency of Donald Trump, when “dialogue and talks were in the focus of efforts aimed at resolving conflicts that jeopardised global security”. “We have similar positions concerning peace, illegal immigration and the protection of the family,” the minister said.
“We have the best ever chance so far for peace to return to Ukraine after almost a thousand days,” he added.
‘This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,’ Trump says
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump early Wednesday thanked Americans for the apparent “honor of being elected” to the nation’s highest office, Anadolu news agency wrote.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump told supporters in Palm Beach, Florida, referring to his earlier term in office, in 2017-2021, before Joe Biden won four years as the 46th US president.
According to Fox News projections, Trump ensured victory after defeating his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election.
“This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,” Trump added.
Pledging to fight for every citizen, he said: “We’re going to help our country heal.”
The win would make Trump only the second US president to serve non-consecutive terms, following Grover Cleveland, who served two separate terms in the late 1800s, with President Benjamin Harrison in between.
‘America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate’
Winning the vote was “very nice,” said Trump.
“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. We have taken back control of the Senate,” he added.
Turning to border security, an issue he pressed on the campaign trail, he promised to “fix” the borders.
“We’re gonna have to seal up those borders … We want people to come back in, but we have to let them come back in, but they have to come in legally,” Trump said.
Stressing security, he said: “We want to have security. We want to have things be good safe … We want a strong and powerful military, and ideally we don’t have to use it.”
Trump says he is ‘working to stop wars,’ not start them
During his first term, the US had no wars for four years, except for the defeat of terrorist group Daesh/ISIS, Trump said.
“We defeated ISIS in record time but we had no wars. They said: ‘He will start a war.’ I’m not going to start (one), (I’m) working to stop wars. But this is also a massive victory for democracy and for freedom,” he added.
Stressing that being the US president is “the most important job” in the world, Trump claimed that he had a “great” first term.
“Nothing will stop me from keeping my word to you, the people. We will make America safe, strong, prosperous, powerful and free again.
“And I’m asking every citizen all across our land to join me in this noble and righteous endeavor. That’s what it is. It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us. It’s time to unite.”
Trump’s address saw the attendance of family members, allies, and close advisers, including tech billionaire Elon Musk.
“We have a new star. A star is born,” he said, referring to Musk, who endorsed Trump and is expected to play a role in his administration.
Separately, his running mate JD Vance thanked Trump for the trust he placed in him.
“I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America,” Vance said in a short address to supporters.
Read also:
PM Orbán and Hungary may become a policymaker in the USA if Trump wins: the background of their bromance – read more HERE
The Hungarian forint has been facing intense pressure against the euro, recently sinking to a two-year low of nearly 410 EUR/HUF as the U.S. presidential election introduces a wave of uncertainty into global markets. This downturn is driven by a combination of events, including fluctuating poll results, which have led to the dollar strengthening and emerging-market currencies like the forint weakening.
Presidential election impact on the dollar and emerging markets
As Donald Trump’s election odds have improved in recent weeks, the dollar has gained strength—a trend that typically exerts downward pressure on currencies from emerging markets, Index reports. Since early October, the forint has struggled to exit the 400 range against the euro, but recent election developments pushed it down further, with Tuesday’s rates briefly hitting the 410 mark. Following some market corrections, the forint improved slightly, but the currency remains highly volatile.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. As the U.S. presidential election introduces a wave of uncertainty into global markets, the forint has shrunk to a two-year low against the euro. Photo: MTI/EPA/The Washington Post pool/Demetrius Freeman
A stronger dollar generally spells trouble for emerging-market currencies, including the forint, as it raises the cost of imports and impacts inflation. According to analysts, a potential Trump victory could bring an aggressive U.S. economic and trade policy, sparking expectations of higher inflation and interest rates in the U.S., and causing the dollar to strengthen further. In turn, this would likely prolong the forint’s weakened position, potentially keeping it over 410 EUR/HUF.
Hungarian economy’s high exposure to U.S. trade shifts
Hungary’s economy, alongside other Central and Eastern European countries, could be significantly impacted by a U.S. Republican victory due to its exposure to the U.S. market. Last year, Hungarian exports to the U.S. totalled nearly USD 11 billion, while imports remained around USD 3 billion. A Trump win could bring protectionist measures, including higher tariffs, that may create hurdles for Hungary’s export-driven economy. In addition to currency fluctuations, tariffs would add cost pressures on Hungarian products entering the American market, potentially reducing demand and impacting Hungary’s trade balance.
What a Democratic victory might mean for the forint
Alternatively, if Kamala Harris were to win, the dollar might lose some of its recent momentum, easing pressure on emerging-market currencies. Additionally, the continuation of Democratic trade policies would likely mean lower tariffs, a development favourable for Hungary’s trade position with the U.S. Analysts believe a Democratic administration would favour looser fiscal policies, which could stabilise or even weaken the dollar, giving the forint some breathing room. This outcome could mean the forint regains strength and moves back below the 410 EUR/HUF threshold.
Market volatility likely to persist
Regardless of the presidential election’s outcome, the forint is expected to remain volatile in the coming weeks. Following Tuesday’s election, traders are closely watching the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision, with a 25 basis point cut anticipated by market players. This potential rate cut would add further complexity to currency markets, affecting the forint’s performance and prompting further adjustments in the dollar’s value.
While the Hungarian forint has suffered in the wake of the presidential election’s unpredictability, analysts caution that additional fluctuations are possible as results unfold and global investors react. Both U.S. presidential candidates have pledged expansive fiscal programs that would increase America’s national debt substantially. The projected debt increase is notably higher under Trump’s plan, which could drive inflation and influence the dollar’s strength in the long term.
For Hungary, this U.S. presidential election and its financial ripples underscore how connected emerging markets are to U.S. political outcomes. As volatility continues, businesses and consumers in Hungary may need to brace for continued adjustments in the exchange rate, which could impact everyday costs and Hungary’s broader economic landscape.
UPDATE: Whoever wins, the forint is in a hard situation
The Hungarian forint has weakened significantly due to uncertainties surrounding the U.S. presidential election, reaching a 23-month low against the dollar and remaining weak against the euro. Analysts indicate that Donald Trump’s potential victory is strengthening the dollar, as his administration is expected to pursue loose fiscal and strict monetary policies. However, even if Kamala Harris were elected, the forint would still be negatively affected due to diplomatic tensions between Hungary and the U.S. According to Index, experts from Gránit Alapkezelő and Makronóm agree that the forint’s depreciation would likely continue regardless of the election outcome. The upcoming Federal Reserve decisions and domestic monetary policies may help stabilise the forint, though no interest rate cuts from the Hungarian National Bank are expected.
The world will turn its attention to Budapest this week as the capital city is going to host top diplomatic events, Barna Pál Zsigmond, a government official, told public broadcaster M1 on Tuesday.
The parliamentary state secretary of EU affairs noted that Budapest will host a European Political Community summit on November 7 and an informal summit of the European Council the next day.
“Thursday’s event will be a summit of European countries in a geographical sense with the UK, Turkiye, the Caucasus, and the Western Balkan countries in attendance while on Friday EU heads of state and government are set to meet,” he said.
The agenda of both events includes discussions about major geopolitical, geostrategic, and economic issues, as well as the US presidential election, Zsigmond said, adding that a Budapest declaration on Europe’s competitiveness was also planned to be adopted.
As we wrote today, traffic in Budapest is expected to be completely paralysed for the next few days due to diplomatic events, details HERE.
PM Orbán admitted this summer that his people are involved in Trump’s program writing system. The two leaders regularly praise each other’s work. It is unprecedented that a potential US president has such strong ties to a small country’s leader like Hungary’s Orbán. How could PM Orbán get into the inner circles of Trump, and will that relationship be profitable for Hungary? Szabad Európa talked with multiple diplomats, background experts, etc. to unravel the evolution of the unprecedented Trump-Orbán ‘bromance’.
The Trump-Orbán bromance
If you google bromance, one of the first definitions will be: “a close but non-sexual relationship between two men”. John Fund, a well-known American journalist, characterised Trump’s close relationship with PM Viktor Orbán with that word. He added that Orbán knew how to speak with Trump to make him comfortable.
Szabad Európa reminded readers that Orbán endorsed Trump when he was only a presidential nominee in 2016, and it did not seem possible that he could win the primaries. Eventually, he did. Since then, the Orbán cabinet has been spending immense amounts of money to get into the inner circles of the former President.
During the first Trump administration, official lobbyists like Tucker Carlson’s father, Richard Carlson, did that work with David Reaboi. After Biden’s victory, official contracts ended, and new ones were not signed. However, that does not mean the project did not continue. We wrote HEREabout Orbán’s Danube Institute, which allegedly spent HUF 0.5 billion on promoting the Orbán cabinet in the USA. Moreover, Rod Dreher regularly writes articles praising the policies of the Orbán cabinet in conservative American papers and received USD 5,666/month for that work in 2022 and USD 8,750/month in 2023.
Fidesz-organised Tusványos festival in Transylvania. Photo: Facebook/Viktor Orbán
Party, think tank, and personal relations
The Trump-Orbán relationship has three spheres, Szabad Európa writes. The first is the relationship between the Republican Party (and its wing dominated by Trump) and Hungarian government officials. The media outlet’s sources said those relations are not deep because Republicans do not concentrate on developing international relations.
The second sphere is the think tanks, where the Orbán cabinet may have strategic positions. Several Hungarian organisations are involved, like the Századvégand the Alapjogokért Központ. The latter organises the CPAC Budapest events, which can only happen because the Hungarian government has enough money to cover its costs: CPAC is free for the participants.
CPAC in Budapest with PM Orbán. He has enough money to organise it. Photo: facebook.com/orbanviktor
Cooperations with e.g. the Heritage Foundation or the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) may become key if Trump wins, and those think tanks will define many areas of his policies. Allegedly, the AFPI has already drafted more than 300 decrees for Trump.
In 2019, Trump did not know Orbán
Finally, the third sphere is the personal relationship between Orbán and Trump. That developed a lot since in 2019, before the European parliamentary elections, when Orbán finally got an invitation to the White House, Trump did not know his name. Now he does, and regularly mentions and praises Orbán in his campaign addresses.
Tucker Carlson did a lot to boost that bromance. In 2021, he came to Hungary and praised Orbán for seven days. Nobody knows how much the government paid for Carlson because all documents have been classified for thirty years. However, Carlson’s fee was around USD 70,000 then. The American anchorman said he came to Hungary for free.
Carlson and Orbán. https://www.facebook.com/orbanviktor
Relations with the Trump team are also important
From the Hungarian side, Balázs Orbán played a key part in developing the relationship. He regularly meets and speaks with MAGA Republicans to get into the inner circles of the Trump team. Informants told Szabad Európa that Orbán is in a ‘text message relationship’ with multiple important Republican politicians.
Furthermore, Orbán knows what to tell Trump and how to speak with him. John Fund, a journalist for National Reporter, said Trump wants to hear he is strong, the Europeans are afraid of him, he can negotiate and carry out magnificent things. Strongmen are his weakness, and Orbán perfectly fits that role.
The first meeting in 2019. Their relationship has developed a lot since then. Photo: facebook.com/Orbán Viktor
Orbán knows that when Trump wins, his schedule will become tight. Therefore, he allocated immense resources to solidify his relations with key figures around Trump. One of them is Donald Trump Jr.: he was in Budapest this June and held talks with PM Orbán. Another important figure is Trump’s VP candidate, J.D. Vance, who praised Orbán in multiple interviews.
Read also:
Trump’s triumph could mean PM Orbán’s defeat and a government change in 2026 – read more HERE
Opinion: The Trump-Orbán bromance – details in THISarticle
Next week, Budapest will host a major diplomatic event as 45 to 47 heads of state and government from across the Western world converge on the Hungarian capital. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that the gathering, billed as the largest diplomatic event in Hungary’s history, will bring together both EU leaders and high-ranking officials from non-EU countries, focusing on topics like European competitiveness and the U.S. presidential election outcome.
Following last week’s BRICS summit in Kazan, which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán described as the Eastern world’s gathering, Hungary will welcome dozens of Western leaders to Budapest. Orbán announced on Kossuth Radio’s Sunday News (Vasárnapi újság) programme that the Hungarian capital will host 45 to 47 heads of state and government leaders next week, making this the largest diplomatic event in Hungary’s history, HírTV reports.
The prime minister highlighted the significance of this event, noting that it will not only feature key EU leaders like those from Germany, France, and the Netherlands but will also include non-EU representatives from the United Kingdom, Türkiye, the Caucasus, and the Balkans, Economx writes. “The Eastern leaders met, made their decisions, and now the Western leaders will convene here in Hungary,” Orbán remarked, referring to the European Political Community (EPC) summit.
Orbán outlined two main issues for the summit’s agenda. First, the event will closely follow the U.S. presidential election, which will occur just two days prior. Second, leaders will address Europe’s declining competitiveness, a pressing concern for the region’s future. Among the expected attendees is former Italian Prime Minister and former President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi, who recently authored a comprehensive study on EU competitiveness.
The summit will take place at the Puskás Arena in Budapest, where preparations are already underway. Zoltán Kovács, Hungary’s Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations, recently shared updates on social media, highlighting the logistical work being done to host this high-profile event.
🙌 One week to go: Our team is in the final phases of the preparatory work for the biggest diplomatic event in modern Hungarian history!
🇭🇺🤝🇪🇺 Hungary is proud to host the “twin events” of the #EPC and the informal #EUCO in Budapest next week with participants from over 40… pic.twitter.com/LLL6AWyJkV
Hungarian cinematographer Marcell Rév has teamed up with yet another global superstar, contributing his talents to the music video for Lady Gaga’s latest single, Disease. This track, the lead single from Gaga’s upcoming sixth studio album, was released last Friday, while the video—directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Tanu Muino—premiered in the early hours of Wednesday, Hungarian time.
According to Refresher, Lady Gaga took to social media to share the inspiration behind Disease, describing it as a journey of self-confrontation and fear. “I think a lot about the relationship I have with my own inner demons. It’s never been easy for me to face how I get seduced by chaos and turmoil. It makes me feel claustrophobic. Disease is about facing that fear, facing myself and my inner darkness, and realizing that sometimes I can’t win or escape the parts of myself that scare me,” she wrote. “That I can try and run from them but they are still part of me and I can run and run but eventually I’ll meet that part of myself again, even if only for a moment.”
She continued, “Dancing, morphing, running, purging. Again and again, back with myself. This integration is ultimately beautiful to me because it’s mine and I’ve learned to handle it. I am the conductor of my own symphony. I am every actor in the plays that are my art and my life. No matter how scary the question, the answers are inside of me. Essential, inextricable parts of what makes me me. I save myself by keeping going. I am the whole me, I am strong, and I am up for the challenge. Happy Halloween,” Gaga concluded.
Marcell Rév’s impressive resume includes collaborations with top-tier artists and chart-topping hits. He served as the cinematographer for two of Miley Cyrus’s recent hits: Flowers, one of 2023’s biggest songs, and Used to Be Young. Besides his work with Cyrus, Rév has also shot videos for stars like Bad Bunny, Moses Sumney, and Beyoncé.
The tax rebate system, which serves as the basis for the success of Hungary’s film industry, has been secured for another six years, until end-2030, film industry government commissioner Csaba Káel said at a festival and industry forum in Los Angeles.
“In recent years, talented Hungarian film professionals have contributed to several cutting-edge productions that have been awarded Oscars. We celebrate them, the international partners of our film industry, and the film industry tax rebate that has been successful for twenty years, and the fact that the film tax rebate system, the basis for our dynamically growing film industry, has been guaranteed for another six years, until the end of 2030, after its approval by the European Commission,” the National Film Industry quoted Káel as saying in a statement.
The photo shows József Fülöp, producer of the award-winning film Műanyag égbolt, Csenge Palotai, director of the Liszt Institute in New York, Csaba Káel, government commissioner for the film industry, Petra Iványi, producer of the award-winning film Cicaverzum, Ákos Pál, CEO of NFI and László Dreissiger, producer of the award-winning film Valami madarak (l-r) at the Made in Hungary festival in Los Angeles on 27 October 2024. Photo: MTI/NFI
The National Film Industry launched the Made in Hungary series of events, which included the film festival and professional forum held in Los Angeles, to celebrate the anniversary of the film industry tax rebate introduced in 2004.
Hungarian pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter and US peer AbbVie on Thursday announced a new collaboration for the discovery and development of novel targets for neuropsychiatric conditions.
The collaboration expands on the success of nearly two decades of partnership on central nervous system products, such as cariprazine and the discovery of investigational drug candidate ABBV-932 for the treatment of bipolar depression and generalised anxiety disorder.
Under the terms of the agreement, the collaboration includes both preclinical and clinical R+D activities with shared financing by the parties. Richterwill receive an upfront cash payment of USD 25m, along with potential future development, regulatory and commercialisation milestones. Richter may also receive sales-based royalties. AbbViewill have worldwide commercialisation rights except for the traditional markets of Richter, including Europe, Russia, other CIS countries and Vietnam.
Read also:
Read the story of Gedeon Richter, the founder of the world-famous Hungarian pharmaceutical corporation HERE
The leaders of national delegations in the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group in the European Parliament will pay a working visit to New York on October 26-28, the Fidesz EP group told MTI on Saturday.
They will travel to New York at the invitation of the New York Young Republican Club for talks on European-American relations and further cooperation possibilities as part of the programme series dubbed Europe meets the US.
The Fidesz-Christian Democrats group will be represented by delegation head Tamás Deutsch.
Deutschsaid the meeting will be an important step to further strengthen the cooperation between right-wing, patriot forces.
Tamás Deutsch elected vice president of the Budapest Fidesz this Friday:
The PfE national delegation leaders will attend a campaign rally of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trumpon October 27.
Photo: FB/Trump
Read also:
Trump’s triumph could mean PM Orbán’s defeat and a government change in 2026 – read also HERE
A memorial plaque has been inaugurated in tribute to Colonel Commandant Michael Kováts de Fabriczy, a Hungarian-born 18th-century Hussar officer, at the Kossuth House in central Washington, DC.
The inauguration on Friday was held as a highlight event of a programme series marking the 300th birth anniversary of the Hussar colonel, who was born in Karcag, in eastern Hungary, and died in the American Revolutionary War in the Siege of Charleston, SC, in May, 1779.
Kováts de Fabriczy is regarded as a famous Hungarian figure in American history, the “father of the US cavalry”, who established the first US light cavalry.
Photo: FB/Kossuth Foundation Washington
Photo: FB/Kossuth Foundation Washington
Photo: FB/Kossuth Foundation Washington
Addressing the inauguration, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said that it had to be thanked to the Karcag-born officer that it became widely known to the American public that one of the main characteristics of Hungarians is striving for freedom.
The efforts aimed at reviving “the memory of the Hungarian freedom-fighter officer” will strengthen the bond between Americans and Hungarians, said Varga, who was also born in Karcag.
Finance minister Mihály Varga. Photo: FB/Kossuth Foundation Washington
Photo: FB/Kossuth Foundation Washington
Mihály Varga, Hungary’s finance minister inaugurating the plaque. Photo: FB/Kossuth Foundation Washington
Photo: FB/Kossuth Foundation Washington
Szabolcs Takács, Hungary’s ambassador to Washington, said that Kováts de Fabriczy was a pillar of the Hungarian-American diaspora’s identity and self-determination, and his person “a testimony” to American-Hungarian relations with regard to the fact that a common characteristic of the two nations is their love for freedom.
The Hungarian government placed all bets on President Trump’s victory in the November presidential elections. PM Orbán hopes Trump will end the war in Ukraine and lower US and EU pressure on Hungary concerning certain issues and their private friendship could help develop ties between the two countries. However, a new Trump administration could be shocking for Hungary’s economy due to the policies he promises to follow. Experts believe Hungary may experience a struggling automotive industry, contracting economy, and a weak forint if Trump wins.
PM Orbán needs positive economic news to win
According to Portfolio, PM Orbán and his government should not dream about Trump’s November victory because that may mean their loss in the 2026 general elections. The former president’s economic policies would decrease trade between the EU and the USA, resulting in a declining German and Hungarian economy. The new crisis would come ahead of the Hungarian general elections which Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party has a real chance to win. Based on the latest polls, his party is 1-2% ahead of the Fidesz. Such rates were impossible in the last 18 years.
23 October commemoration of the Tisza Party in Budapest. Photo: MTI/Balogh Zoltán
Hence, PM Orbán wants new MP candidates, more coming outs to ease scandals and a more effective government-close media. Some Hungarian media outlets wrote he plans purges in the next few months. Furthermore, he announced ambitious economic goals like an impressive wage rise, the extension of the family support system and support for the SME sector. Orbán seems determined to carry out those plans even though the Hungarian economy struggles, GDP growth is falling behind aims and the people do not want to increase their consumption.
Trump would attack the foundation of Hungary’s economy
Much of the Hungarian economy is built on the automotive industry where German and Chinese carmakers dominate and more than 150,000 Hungarians work. However, Trump’s new presidency would hit that sector hard.
The former US president promises a 10% tariff on all imports and 60% on imports from China. Since the trade value between the EU and the USA is more than EUR 1,000 billion yearly, such changes would affect Europe. Such tariffs, for example, would lead to a trade war between the EU and the USA, China and the USA, and China and the EU, undermining the global trade system. According to the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft, a 10% safeguard duty would reduce the world’s GDP by 0.6% in 2025 and 1.1% in 2027.
Trump’s victory may result in Orbán’s defeat. Photo: FB/Orbán
Economic decline on the horizon in Europe and Hungary
Erste Group wrotein an analysis that the economic contraction would be painful in Slovakia and Hungary since 4.5% and 3.8% (USD 2.5 billion) of their export go to the USA. According to an analysis of the S&P, China could not help out Hungary in that regard.
Hungary’s economy is volatile to outer shocks because its openness to merchandise trade is high, 137.6% in 2022. According to the Erste, the German economy may decrease by 1.4% in the worst-case scenario. The Trump administration would cause 0.5% GDP contraction for Hungary in 2025 and 0.22% in 2026. Meanwhile, PM Orbán and his government need GDP and consumption growth to win in 2026.
FM Szijjártó with China’s foreign affairs minister. Source: Facebook/ Minister Szijjártó
We wrote HEREthat the Trump presidency would mean a stronger dollar, which is bad news for the currencies of emerging markets like Hungary.
Moreover, Portfolio wrote that Trump would expect Hungary to buy American military equipment, which would mean an extra burden for the country’s budget.
Read also:
Orbán cabinet introduces stricter rules on guest worker employment – read more HERE
Orbán government celebratessuccess, but Hungary faces its steepest economic decline of the year
