Viktor Orban chosen the most influential man of Europe

The small town rebel helped to break down the walls. Now he builds them – Politico website in Brussels described Viktor Orban with these words in the compilation which selected a person from each country who was the mover and shaker of the European policy. Among them the Hungarian prime minister is in  the lead, vs.hu wrote.

“Viktor Orban is inevitable, which is not a small feat from the leader of a 10 million Central European state. You may love him or hate him, but be aware of him”.

He shapes the European zeitgeist as much as he adapts to it – analysts of Politico wrote. In fact, he was the only one who insisted on the European law not to let the influx of refugees through the borders as Greece, Italy and France did for months.

“The European leaders called him a Nazi. Now he is the talisman of the European mainstream right. The Orban political brand is the new norm in Europe” – Politico thinks.

The “Orban comments” can be rediscovered from the French far right to the Spanish left, from Front National to Podemos. Orban was a pioneer in his field. He is the modus operandi of the protection of national sovereignty and distrust against the status quo of Europe.

“If we try to characterize him, he defies with any categorization, except that he is a smart and successful politician.”

Critics say his current self is the opposite of his past one: he turned from liberal into illiberal, while only one thing left: he has no sense of humor, vs.hu wrote.

Orban was laughing in the summer when the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker greeted him with the words “Hello dictator!”

Politico wrote, referring to people who know Orban well, the transformation was rather pragmatic. In the beginning, Fidesz relied on the progressive urban youth and intelligence. It was a large camp, but another party called Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) dominated it. Orban directed the party to the right after the 1994 election fiasco.

Now, Orban is, in any case, a personality who attracts others’ attention, effective…and contagious – the Brussel analyst closes the analysis.

Second on the list is the Danish Margrethe Vestager who, as the EU commissioner for competition, “rewrote the rules of global business life”. She is followed by the British Nicola Sturgeon and the Spanish Alberto Rivera, both reshaped their nation by walking their own paths. Sturgeon is the first female prime minister of Scotland, one of the pioneer of the Scottish political awakening. Alberto Rivera broke into the Spanish political life with a nude photo, and now he has become a dominant politician who can be the king maker in the December 20 elections.

based on the article of vs.hu
translated by BA

Photo: MTI
Copy editor: bm

Source: vs.hu