Viktor Orban has “sacrificed most of his political allies” in Europe in order to win the upcoming election in Hungary, Hungarian investigative journalist, Szabolcs Panyi, told N1.

Panyi explained that recent polls show a clear advantage for Viktor Orban’s governing party Fidesz.

He said that, while the opposition has the mathematical chance to win since six parties are running on a joint list, “the general impression and the mood is that it’s a sure win for Viktor Orban.”

Orban might even have a two-thirds majority – as was the case in the previous elections, he said.

However, Panyi noted that the war in Ukraine brought in some “very unexpected twists” and that “there is a lot of uncertainty” as well as scandals in the end of the election campaign.

He said the biggest issues in Hungary at the moment are the war in Ukraine and the “looming economic crisis” and that Orban has “sacrificed most of his political allies” in Europe in order to win the upcoming election.

“He’s been in a close alliance with Poland, with Slovenia, with other countries that have populist right-wing leadership, but the Ukraine war basically united the European political sphere, everyone is 100 percent behind Ukraine (…) and Viktor Orban is an outlier,” he said.

Panyi also explained that Orban has been reluctant in condemning Vladimir Putin and accused Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenkyy of “colluding with the Hungarian opposition”, while his Government also refuses to support Ukraine with lethal weapons and banned weapons transport through the country.

“Orban is campaigning as the leader who can preserve the peace, and he accuses the opposition of warmongering,” he said.

In case Orban wins the election, he will be “isolated” in the European sphere, he added.

Panyi also spoke about Orban’s support for the Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite BiH Presidency, Milorad Dodik.

Orban had promised a 100 million Euro loan to BiH’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, where Dodik is the leader of the ruling party, but according to Pany, it is unlikely this money will arrive in BiH.

“I think that Orban’s Balkans policy is mostly aimed at supporting Dodik at the expense of regional stability. That created a lot of uproar in the European Union and I think that EU leaders tried to convince him of stopping this kind of destabilising support for Dodik,” he said.

“Hungary just doesn’t have that type of money at their disposal to just send it to Bosnia. So, I really doubt that that sum could arrive,” he added.

The full interview in English can be seen in the video above.