Page 36 - bne_August 2023_20230802

36 I Central Europe bne August 2023
Hungary’s Viktor Orban (left) has found a solid ally in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since he first swept into power in 2010. / bne IntelliNews
Orban left dangling by Erdogan’s support for Sweden’s Nato membership
Tamas Csonka in Budapest
urkey’s approval for Sweden's
Nato membership has caused another big diplomatic embarrassment for Hungarian
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s radical rightwing government, as Hungary could now be the last country to approve Swedish accession and it has nothing to show for its obstruction. Of the 31 Nato members, only Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve Sweden's Nato accession.
The Hungarian strongman appears to have blocked Swedish membership of the military alliance partly as a favour to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but the Turkish leader does not seem to have forewarned Orban about the shift in his position.
Hungary’s obstruction in the last few months represents a moral low in foreign policy, experts said, adding that
www.bne.eu
it deals a blow to the country’s already tarnished reputation.
The news that Erdogan gave his consent to the Turkish parliament to ratify Sweden's Nato accession on July 10 caught policymakers in Budapest off guard. There was a sense of confusion in pro-government media, which speculated that the impasse over Turkish’s objection could take weeks, if not months.
Sweden and Finland applied to join Nato last year in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined the alliance in April. The Hungarian government only gave its approval once Turkey signalled to give its consent, but even after 18 months, the Fidesz-led majority in parliament found no time to pass the legislation.
Despite Orban’s pledge to his Swedish counterpart, Budapest did not put
the law to vote last week before the summer recess. Instead, lawmakers voted to amend the controversial law on teachers and the 2024 budget in the last sessions before the break. This means that unless House Speaker Laszlo Kover convenes an extraordinary session, the legislation could be passed only in late September during the autumn session.
According to the latest reports from Tuesday night, Orban convened an extraordinary, multi-day cabinet meeting for Wednesday to discuss the latest developments after the Nato summit.
The confusion over the swing in the Turkish position was palpable among the few remaining pro-Atlantic politicians within the Fidesz ranks. When asked about the prospect of an extraordinary session, Zsolt Nemeth dithered, saying that "we will be smarter