Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, have never shared a sunshine-and-roses rapport. The ties between Rome and Budapest have grown increasingly tangled in recent years, not only because of personal frictions noted by Meloni’s close circle, but also due to a rift over political orientation within Europe. Orban’s closeness to Matteo Salvini, the head of the League and Meloni’s rival ally within Italy’s own political spectrum, adds a further layer of friction. Since Russia’s larger invasion of Ukraine, Meloni has pressed a robust Atlanticist stance that often clashes with Hungary’s more cautious and hesitant approach to European reactions to Moscow’s aggression. On this Monday, the full extent of this complex relationship was laid bare, exposing both avenues of cooperation and unmistakable limits.
As the head of government in Hungary and leader of the Fidesz party, Orban has repeatedly asserted that his country will pursue its national interests first and refuses to be absorbed into any broader political family that includes the European Conservatives and Reformists, the group that Meloni chairs as a figure in the European political spectrum. He has stated that even if the two governments do not belong to the same parliamentary family, there is a shared commitment to strengthening right wing parties across Europe. His remarks preceded Hungary’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will begin on July 1.
Sí a los rumanos, fuera los húngaros
In recent days, the rift deepened after Orban referred to a latest point of friction with Meloni. A week earlier Meloni had acknowledged in the conference of the European Conservatives and Reformists the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, the AUR. The AUR is a controversial anti-system and far right party that argues Transylvania rightfully belongs to Romania, a claim also contested by Budapest. The consequence of this turn is that AUR’s entry into the ECR closed the door for Fidesz to join the same group, at a moment when negotiations were still underway to shape a majority to govern European institutions in the next term.
From the rightmost flank of Europe, Meloni herself sought to clarify the stance. She noted that the two governments had indeed discussed Ukraine, acknowledging that their positions have not always matched. Yet she insisted that she respects Hungary’s approach, which, despite its misgivings, helped the European bloc adopt common positions after their talks at the Palazzo Chigi, the Italian government’s seat.
The epilogue of the narrative seemed to confirm what right-leaning newspapers had been hinting at in the morning. The relationship could be described as a calm, consensual divorce. It is quite likely that the two leaders will pursue separate paths for now, but the door remains open for future intersections between their trajectories as political currents shift within Europe.