Putin still has friends in the west - and they're gaining ground
Jonathan Freedland
Fri 8 Apr 2022 12.53 EDT
That picture of Vladimir Putin, alone at the end of a long Kremlin table, may prove one of the enduring images of this war – but it is deceiving. Because although every day brings fresh confirmation that the Russian dictator is drenched in blood, with the rocket attack on Kramatorsk only the latest evidence, he is not friendless. Naturally, he has allies among his fellow brutal world leaders, whether in Minsk, Damascus or Beijing, but he has chums in less expected places too. In a conflict cast by both sides as Putin v the west, the Russian leader has powerful friends behind enemy lines – and, even if his western admirers have had to engage in some deft footwork since the invasion of Ukraine, they are gaining ground.
The most flagrant example is Viktor Orbán, apostle of what he calls “illiberal democracy”, who last weekend secured a fourth term as ruler of Hungary. It would be wrong to say he was “re-elected”, because that might imply a genuine election, which this wasn’t: Orbán controls the Hungarian media and the entire apparatus of the state.
To be sure, he had to tone down the pro-Putinism during the campaign; he admitted Ukrainian refugees and went along with EU sanctions on Moscow. But now he can revert to type. He has become the EU’s longest-serving leader, armed with an absolute majority in Budapest and a seat on the European Council in Brussels. As one seasoned Europe-watcher puts it, when it comes to doing Putin a favour and sabotaging future action by the EU, “Orbán can deliver”. Given that the key to the western response to the Russian invasion has been unity, and that the EU and Nato work by consensus, one spoiler can thwart everyone else.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/08/vladimir-putin-viktor-orban-eu-marine-le-pen
Orban and Le Pen are both Kleptocratic....
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