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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Lili Bayer

Jetsetting Orbán is speed-dating global strongmen – but at what cost?

Viktor Orbán and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin
Viktor Orbán and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin (right), at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, in October. Photograph: Grigory Sysoyev/AP

Europe’s pariah prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is jetting across the globe in search of friends.

Hungary, an EU and Nato member that has been backsliding on democratic norms for more than a decade, has become even more isolated in the western club over the past months. Orbán has irritated allies by blocking a much-needed EU financial aid package for Ukraine, while Hungary’s parliament has dragged its feet on ratifying Sweden’s bid to join Nato.

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