Donald Trump’s Re-Election Sparks Meltdown among the Hungarian Left

Following the governing party’s reaction, opposition parties also expressed their views on Wednesday to the results of the US presidential election and Donald Trump’s victory.

As Hungary Today reported, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was among the first politicians to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election, calling it “the greatest comeback in Western political history.” His personal message to the 47th President of the United States, was followed by warm words of praise from politicians in the governing party.

However, there were mixed feelings among Hungarian opposition parties after Trump’s victory.

The president of the right-wing Our Homeland Movement (Mi Hazánk Mozgalom) congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election on the X social networking site. László Toroczkai wrote in his English post, referring to US Ambassador David Pressman: “pack your bags, goodbye.”

Pack your bags @USAmbHungary, goodbye! Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump!

— Toroczkai László (@ToroczkaiLaszlo) November 6, 2024

Jobbik – Movement for a Better Hungary also congratulated Donald Trump. On their Facebook page, they wrote that they hope that after the inauguration of the US president – as Donald Trump promised – the Russian-Ukrainian war will be resolved as soon as possible, and the Middle East conflict will be resolved.

However, the party’s vice-president, Koloman Brenner, predicted that the re-election of Donald Trump could lead to even tougher economic and political measures in the US policy towards China, with repercussions for the whole of Europe.

“Trump is a threat to democracy, his economic policy is a threat to Hungary. Instead of his childish infatuation, Orbán should deal with this.” Márton Tompos, president of Momentum Movement (Momentum Mozgalom), wrote that “Trump’s economic and political plans are against Hungary’s interests.”

He said that Donald Trump’s “plans could once again disrupt world trade and instead of settling the differences, we can expect them to sharpen.” The solution to the situation in Ukraine will then fall primarily to Europe, and the EU must take decisive action in the coming months, he said.

It should be also noted that Momentum Movement politician Katalin Cseh endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in a Facebook post one day before the elections.

Péter Magyar, chairman of the Tisza Party (Respect and Freedom Party, Tisztelet és Szabadság Párt), said in a statement: “America has decided. Congratulations to President Donald Trump and the elected members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.” He added that the United States is one of Hungary’s most important allies and economic partners.

The Tisza Party is ready to work with the new US administration to further develop the relationship between our countries,”

he stressed.

In his Facebook post, Richárd Barabás, co-chair of the Dialogue – The Greens’ Party (Párbeszéd – A Zöldek Pártja), noted that Donald Trump’s re-election is a matter of deep concern for two reasons; one is Trump’s attitude to the fight against climate change, and the other is the security of Europe and Ukraine.

His re-election could mean that America is once again turning its back on the global coalition against climate change that is desperately needed. This inaction has serious consequences for all of us: extreme weather events, natural disasters, ecological crises are all challenges that transcend our borders and that we must face. Building a green future is now even more in our own hands, he added.

He also wrote that President Trump’s statements so far on Ukraine and NATO suggest that America is becoming less engaged with Europe. If this is indeed the case, Europe will be forced to devote increasing resources to arming itself to ensure its own defense. This could not only slow down the green transition, but also seriously threaten the continent’s peace. The cost of armament diverts resources away from developing sustainability and competitiveness, undermines our social systems and risks creating a new spiral of war, he said, adding that he believes we must build a better, more peaceful and sustainable world.