For Orban’s opposition, Russia looms large over Hungary’s election

(Martin Fornusek – The Kyiv Independent) For some Hungarians, next month’s parliamentary election is a chance to break with Russia, a country many believe holds a grip over their homeland. In power since 2010, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has fostered political and economic ties with Moscow while blocking EU assistance to Ukraine, deepening the rift between Budapest and Brussels. For some of Orban’s opponents who came to the Tisza party rally in Budapest on March 15, it was a chance to reject the government’s pro-Russia course. “I don’t think these people want to belong to Russia,” a Tisza supporter told the Kyiv Independent at the rally. The April 12 election, he said, is the last chance to “change the current political system — otherwise, we’ll become Belarus.” – For Orban’s opposition, Russia looms large over Hungary’s election