Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has run into political trouble ahead of European parliamentary elections in June, with his ruling party shaken by two political scandals within six weeks.
Orban is a long-time ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump and widely seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest supporter in the European Union. The right-wing leader has led the central European country since 2010, making him the EU’s longest-serving head of state.
Yet two major scandals have recently rocked his dominance of Budapest’s political landscape at a sensitive time when Hungary is poised to hold both local and European elections in early June.
The latest controversy is “likely to prove more problematic” for Orban, according to analysts at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, who note that the Hungarian prime minister was previously able to move on from a pardon scandal without a significant loss of public support.
Peter Magyar, a little-known lawyer formerly close to Orban’s government, published an audio recording last week that he says proves top officials conspired to cover up corruption.
He has since announced plans to form a new political party to challenge Orban’s Fidesz party.
