A16 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, APRIL 3 , 2022
The World
PAKISTAN
Khan accuses U.S. of
trying ‘regime change’
Pakistani Prime Minister
Imran Khan suggested Saturday
that he might not accept a vote to
oust him, a move he alleged was
being orchestrated by the United
States.
Opposition parties have put
forward a no-confidence motion
set for a vote o n Sunday.
“How can I accept the result
when the entire process i s
discredited?” Khan told a select
group of foreign journalists at h is
office. “Democracy functions on
moral authority — w hat moral
authority is left a fter this
connivance?”
“The move to oust me is
blatant interference i n domestic
politics b y the United States,” he
said, terming it as an attempt at
“regime change.”
Khan, who already lost his
parliamentary majority after
allies quit his coalition
government and joined the
opposition, urged his supporters
to take to the streets on Sunday
ahead of the vote.
Hours before he spoke, the
head of the army, G en. Qamar
Javed Bajwa, had said Pakistan
wanted to expand its ties with
Washington. President Biden has
not called Khan since t aking
office, but the White House has
denied that it is seeking to topple
him.
U. S. relations are strained in
particular over A fghanistan,
where Washington accused
Pakistan of backing the
successful Taliban insurgency
that led last year to a chaotic
withdrawal of U. S. and allied
forces.
— ReutersYEMENUAE welcomes truce,
as do HouthisThe United Arab Emirates on
Saturday welcomed the
announcement of a U. N.-
brokered truce in Yemen and the
halt of all military operations
there and on the Saudi-Yemeni
border, the UAE’s state news
agency WAM reported.
The Iran-aligned Houthi
group, which has been fighting a
coalition including the UAE in
Yemen, also welcomed the truce
and said it was committed to it as
long as the other side abided b y
it, a spokesperson said on Twitter.
The nationwide truce is the
first for years in Yemen’s s even-
year-old c onflict and will allow
fuel imports into Houthi-held
areas and some flights to operate
from the Sanaa airport, a UnitedNations envoy said on Friday.
The U. N.-brokered deal
between the Saudi-led c oalition
and the Houthis is the most
significant step yet toward
ending a conflict that has killed
tens of thousands and pushed
millions into hunger. The last
coordinated cessation of
hostilities nationwide was during
peace talks i n 2016.
— Associated PressIsraeli security forces kill 3
Palestinian gunmen: Israeli
security forces killed three
gunmen from the Palestinian
militant g roup Islamic Jihad in a
shootout i n the occupied West
Bank on Saturday. Four Israeli
officers were wounded. Tensions
have risen over the past week
after a string of deadly Arab
attacks in Israel. Officials have
warned about a potential s urge
in assaults in the run-up toSaturday’s start of the Muslim
holy month of Ramadan, a period
during which v iolence h as surged
in the past.U.N. concerned over reported
violence against civilians in
Mali: The United Nations’
peacekeeping mission in Mali
voiced concern over reported
violence against civilians, hours
after the military said it killed
more than 2 00 terrorists in a
week-long raid in the country’s
center. Mali has intensified
operations against armed groups
with links to al-Qaeda and the
Islamic State in recent weeks,
and the military has also boosted
its capabilities with reported
assistance by Russia’s Wagner
Group, a network of mercenaries.
The statement from the army
chief of staff, r eleased Friday,
didn’t make clear which group
was the target o f the March 23 -operation in the central Mali
village of Moura that killed 203
militants. Another 51 terrorists
were arrested, it said.Sri Lanka imposes curfew
following unrest: Sri Lanka’s
government imposed a weekend
curfew o n Saturday, e ven as
hundreds of lawyers urged
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to
revoke a state of emergency
introduced following unrest over
fuel and other shortages in a
deep economic crisis. Rajapaksa
introduced a state of emergency
on Friday, r aising fears of a
crackdown on protests. The
Indian Ocean island nation of 22
million people is grappling w ith
rolling blackouts for up to 13
hours a day as the government
scrambles to secure foreign
exchange to pay for fuel and
other essential imports.
— From news servicesDIGESTBY CHICO HARLAN
AND FANNI MATYASOVSZKIAs recently as eight weeks ago,
Hungarian Prime Minister Vik-
tor Orban was cozying up to
Russian President Vladimir Pu-
tin in Moscow, trading quips at a
joint news conference and de-
fending Russia’s security de-
mands as “normal.”
“I have good hopes that for
many [upcoming] years we can
work together,” Orban said,
standing next to Putin, in what
by his count was their 12 th meet-
ing.
In the wake of Russia’s inva-
sion of Ukraine, it’s quickly be-
come dangerous to have a warm
relationship with Putin — and a
legion of European populist con-
servatives has been left chas-
tened and weakened as a conse-
quence.
But Orban is an exception.
He has angered his neighbors
and triggered harsh blowback
from Ukrainian leaders for what
they see as a wishy-washy reac-
tion to the war. Yet by portraying
himself domestically as a steady
hand navigating between larger
world powers, he has gained
ground on the political opposi-
tion in Hungary and increased
his odds of winning a fourth
consecutive term as prime minis-
ter in a parliamentary election
Sunday.
That would allow Orban to
maintain his position as Europe’s
anti-immigration strongman
provocateur, w hile d eepening the
sense among his critics that he
can survive almost anything. It
would also complicate the road
ahead for the European Union,
which is trying to maintain a
hard line against Moscow — from
all 27 members of the bloc —
while also pressing Hungary on
rule-of-law issues and democrat-
ic backsliding.
Many political analysts say
Orban has been able to thrive,
despite his ties with Putin, pre-
cisely because of the autocratic
ways in which he has trans-
formed Hungarian society dur-
ing his 12 consecutive years in
power. In addition to reworking
the electoral system to give his
party a big advantage, Orban has
constrained nongovernmental
organizations, deployed spyware
against journalists, and disman-
tled a system of checks and
balances. He has built up a pro-
government media empire that
amounts to an echo chamber for
his narrative.
And in the midst of the war in
neighboring Ukraine, that narra-
tive has been about safety. In TV
spots that play even during soc-
cer games, Orban has cast him-
self as a sagacious graybeard
whose main goal is protecting
Hungarian lives and keeping
Hungarian troops out of the war.
Pro-government media outlets
have incorrectly portrayed Or-
ban’s opponent — Peter Marki-
Zay, who represents a wide-rang-
ing six-party union — as wanting
to send soldiers into Ukraine.
(Marki-Zay has said Hungary
should follow the direction of
NATO, which has been adamant
about not sending in troops.)
“We will not allow the left to
drag Hungary into this war,”
Orban said in one recent speech.
“We shall not allow the left to
make Hungary a military target.”
Specifically on Russia, Orban
has criticized the invasion as an
aggression and backed the E.U. i n
much of its response. But the
country has opposed sanctions
on energy supplies, and it hasn’t
provided military aid to Ukraine.
All the while, Orban has sig-
naled a warm welcome to
500,000 Ukrainians fleeing war
— a reversal from his stance
during an earlier migration cri-
sis, when Hungary built a wall in
response to people fleeing con-
flict in the Middle East and
Despite Putin ties, Hungary’s Orban sees a boost
Populist prime minister’s odds of winning a fourth consecutive t erm increase even amid regional criticism over Ukraine
Africa.
“He’s a textbook populist,” said
Balint Ruff, a political strategist
in past campaigns for the opposi-
tion. “He always rides with the
majority. A d ay b efore the war, he
was a staunch, anti-migrant war-
rior defending European Christi-
anity. And in one day he became
the gray-haired grandpa who
welcomes everybody from a war-
torn country.”
Ruff said the messaging is
working.
“This is how modern politics
works i n an unchecked world,” he
said.
While Orban’s victory is not
assured, pundits say his odds
have steadily increased over the
last months. As recently as De-
cember, t he race appeared to be a
dead heat. Orban’s Fidesz party
now has a single-digit lead, ac-
cording to most polls — but that
could be decisive, because the
election map has been gerryman-
dered i n Fidesz’s favor. According
to the German Marshall Fund of
the United States, the opposition
would need to win 3 to 5 percent
more votes than Fidesz would
need to earn a parliamentary
majority.
Orban’s base is divided over
whether to blame the Kremlin or
NATO encroachment for the war
— thus, the need for his own
mixed messaging. But his oppo-
nents are still hoping he pays a
price at the polls for his warm
relationship with Moscow, which
includes, perhaps most notably,
welcoming the relocation to Bu-
dapest of a Moscow-based devel-
opment bank with ties to Russian
intelligence.
In Budapest, some local Fidesz
campaign posters have been de-
faced w ith the letter “Z,” a symbol
marked on Russian military vehi-
cles in Ukraine. One oppositionbillboard shows Orban and Putin
together, imploring Orban to
“lean in close” and tell his
“friend”: “DO NOT KILL!”
Marki-Zay, who previously
won a mayoral vote in a town t hat
had appeared to be a Fidesz
stronghold, has accused Orban of
“copying the Putin model” for 12
years and serving the interests of
the Kremlin.
Orban has become a powerful
symbol of the global populist
movement. Fox N ews host Tucker
Carlson paid homage to him in a
visit last year to Budapest. For-
mer president Donald Trump
threw his support behind Orban
in January, saying that he has“done a powerful and wonderful
job in protecting Hungary,” bol-
stering the economy and “stop-
ping illegal immigration.” And
Republicans with the Conserva-
tive Political Action Conference
hope to have Orban as a keynote
speaker at their gathering in
Budapest next month.
Orban, should he prevail in
Sunday’s election, will find more
tricky decisions ahead. Across
Europe, the far-right ascendance
has waned. Neighboring coun-
tries, including traditional ally
Poland, recently refused to meet
in Budapest over what they per-
ceived as Hungary’s meager re-
sponse to the war.Like Hungary, Poland, with a
right-wing populist government,
had an acrimonious relationship
with the European Union before
the war. But Poland has used its
role as a NATO bulwark — and as
the primary entrance point for
Ukrainian refugees — to over-
haul its relationship with Brus-
sels. Hungary, to a lesser extent,
has gained leverage, too.
That’s crucial, because the E.U.
faces a major decision on wheth-
er to withhold billions in funding
from Hungary as well as Poland
for rule-of-law violations.
Heather Grabbe, director of
the Open Society European Pol-
icy Institute, said there is a “hugedanger in trading off the short-
term unity of the war against the
long-term unity of the E.U. as a
community of law with integrity.”
“It’s very tempting,” she said,
“for the E.U. to try to brush this
issue under the carpet, which is
what it did for many years.”
Recently, Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky applied
some pressure on Hungary as
well, name-checking every E.U.
member — mostly applauding
their support — before stopping
to speak directly to Orban.
“Listen, Viktor, do you know
what’s going on in Mariupol?”
Zelensky said.
He mentioned visiting Buda-
pest and seeing a memorial —
depicting shoes left along the
Danube riverbank — dedicated to
Hungarian Jews who were shot
at the water’s edge.
“Please, if you can, go to your
waterfront,” Zelensky continued.
“Look at those shoes. And you
will see how mass killings can
happen again in today’s world.... And you hesitate whether to
impose sanctions or not?”
Poland, for its part, has been
calling on the E.U. t o end imports
of Russian oil, coal and gas.
Hungary — with fewer domes-
tic fossil fuel resources than Po-
land — says it can’t afford to
follow suit.
Agoston Mraz, the chief execu-
tive of pro-government think
tank Nezopont, said it is a “Cen-
tral European necessity to be able
to negotiate with Russia in order
to secure energy.”
“It would be a very romantic
idea to go our own way in this
geopolitical situation,” he said,
“but at the same time it would be
very stupid.”
Harlan reported from Rome and
Matyasovszki from Budapest.AKOS STILLER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
A p oster attached to a tree during a political m arch last month in Budapest depicts Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban with Russian President Vladimir Putin.JANOS KUMMER/GETTY IMAGES
A Ukrainian family at a temporary shelter in Uszka, Hungary, last month. Orban has signaled a warm
welcome to 500,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war there — a reversal from a n earlier migration crisis.