BUDAPEST: Emboldened by a fourth consecutive landslide election victory, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to dig in against energy sanctions on Russia and toughen his stance in talks with Brussels to unlock frozen EU funds.on Sunday , crushing the opposition despite efforts to unite against him, will likely continue to reject any EU sanctions on Russian oil and gas, arguing they would wreck an economy already slowing due to the impacts of the Ukraine war.
He also has to rein in a swelling budget deficit at a time when the Hungarian economy is set to slow due to supply chain disruptions in the car sector. "The expectation that there could be a relatively quick agreement with the European Commission is questionable now after in his speech last night Viktor Orban took a repeated swipe at Brussels," said Peter Virovacz at ING in Budapest.
His critics say the victory could embolden Orban in what they say is an erosion of democratic norms, media freedom and the rights of LGBTQ people. In bright sunshine after Sunday's snowfall, some residents in Budapest, which remains an opposition stronghold with the alliance winning in 16 of 18 constituencies, remained hopeful.