US secretary of state Marco Rubio was in the Hungarian capital on Monday for meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government during which they plan to sign a civilian-nuclear co-operation agreement heralded by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Trump has been outspoken in his support for the nationalist Mr Orban in the Hungarian leader’s bid for re-election in two months.
Mr Orban and his Fidesz party are facing their most serious challenge in the April 12 vote since the right-wing populist retook power in 2010.
The stop in Budapest follows Mr Rubio’s visit to Slovakia on Sunday, after he attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
Led by Eurosceptic populists who oppose support for Ukraine and vocally back Mr Trump, Slovakia and Hungary represent friendly territory for Mr Rubio as he pushes to shore up energy agreements with both central European countries.
Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most reliable advocate in the European Union, Mr Orban has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its war against Ukraine while currying favour with Mr Trump and his Maga movement.
Many in Maga and the broader conservative world view Hungary as a shining example of successful conservative nationalism, despite the erosion of its democratic institutions and its status as one of the EU’s poorest countries.
In a post on his Truth Social site earlier this month, Mr Trump endorsed Mr Orban for the coming elections and called him a “truly strong and powerful Leader” and “a true friend, fighter, and WINNER”.
He has praised Mr Orban’s firm opposition to immigration, exemplified by a fence his government erected on Hungary’s southern border in 2015 as hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Syria and other countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Other US conservatives admire Mr Orban’s hostility to LGBT rights. His government last year banned the popular Budapest Pride celebration and allowed facial recognition technology to be used to identify anyone taking part despite the ban.
It has also effectively banned same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage, and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents.
Mr Orban has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian energy despite efforts by the EU to wean off of such supplies, and received an exemption from US sanctions on Russian energy after a November meeting in the White House with Mr Trump.
Apparently trusting that his political and personal affinity with the US leader could pay even greater dividends, Mr Orban and his government have sought to woo Mr Trump to Hungary before the pivotal April 12 elections, hoping such a high-profile visit and endorsement would push Mr Orban, who is trailing in most polls, over the finish line.