Hungary is today witnessing the unprecedented moral collapse of its leader. Viktor Orbán, who for years portrayed himself as a defender of national values, culture, and the rights of ethnic Hungarians abroad, has now openly supported the most dangerous enemy of the Hungarian minority in Romania — George Simion.
This alliance is striking in its cynicism: the Prime Minister of Hungary has sided with a far-right nationalist who has repeatedly insulted the honour and dignity of the Hungarian people. George Simion, leader of Romania’s rapidly growing far-right AUR party, is notorious for his aggressive, anti-Hungarian rhetoric. His political career has been built on nationalism, xenophobia, and discrimination.
In 2019, Simion played a leading role in organising an attack on the Hungarian military cemetery in Valea Uzului — one of the most painful episodes in recent Romanian-Hungarian relations. As reported by the Financial Times, this act of vandalism was politically motivated, aimed at inciting interethnic tensions. Simion has repeatedly stated that ethnic Hungarians in Romania are a “threat to national unity,” has called for a ban on ethnic-based parties including the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), and has openly opposed any form of autonomy for the Hungarian community in the Székely Land.
His AUR party systematically blocks Hungarian cultural initiatives, sabotages official commemorative events, and openly advocates for the “de-Hungarisation” of border regions. These statements have not gone unnoticed by the international community: Euractiv has repeatedly highlighted the rising xenophobia in Simion’s rhetoric, which stands in direct opposition to core European principles of non-discrimination.
In this context, Viktor Orbán’s support is not only shocking — it constitutes an act of political betrayal. The Hungarian Prime Minister met with Simion, exchanged friendly remarks, and, according to Daily News Hungary, effectively endorsed his candidacy in the upcoming Romanian presidential elections. This has sparked a wave of outrage among the Hungarian diaspora in Transylvania, where ethnic Hungarians fight daily to preserve their language, culture, and rights.
Orbán — a politician who for years exploited the issue of protecting Hungarians abroad for domestic political gain — is now endorsing someone who openly seeks to erase these communities. This move cannot be justified by strategic necessity; it is a cynical political deal in which the interests of the Hungarian nation have been traded away. As The Guardian has noted, support for far-right radicals and flirting with extreme nationalists has become the “new normal” in Orbán’s foreign policy — even when these forces are openly hostile to Hungarians.
Even UDMR leader Hunor Kelemen, traditionally sympathetic to Orbán, was forced to publicly distance himself, stating that the Hungarian community in Romania “does not need such allies.” Within Hungary itself, the political opposition has also strongly condemned the Prime Minister’s actions. Péter Magyar, leader of the new opposition force “Tisza”, directly accused Orbán of betraying the Hungarian people and, on 14 May, launched a 300-kilometre protest march to the Romanian city of Oradea.
As reported by Reuters, this step symbolises resistance not only to Orbán’s domestic policies but also to his abandonment of Hungarian communities abroad. Magyar himself declared that “Hungarians in Romania deserve respect and support, not political bargaining at the expense of their dignity.”
Orbán’s gamble on George Simion is not a diplomatic miscalculation — it is a profoundly immoral choice. It is a choice in favour of destructive nationalism and against his own people. Orbán is no longer a champion of the Hungarian idea. He is the gravedigger of Hungarian dignity, having lost the moral authority to speak on behalf of the nation.
Today, every Hungarian must ask themselves: does our nation deserve a leader who shakes hands with those who want to erase us from history?
