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Swedish PM In Hungary Talking About NATO Membership

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was on his way for talks in Budapest on Friday amid mounting pressure on Hungary to vote for Sweden’s membership of the NATO military alliance.

Hungary is the only one of NATO’s 31 existing members not to have ratified the Nordic nation’s bid due to anger over Sweden’s criticism of the Hungarian leadership’s perceived authoritarian style.

It also has reservations about Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte becoming the new NATO secretary general, despite most countries, including the United States, backing him.

Last week, the government even refused to meet a bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators in Budapest, where they urged Hungary to approve Sweden’s request to join NATO.

Viktor Orbán, the powerful Hungarian prime minister, faces mounting pressure to act after delaying the move for more than 18 months since admitting a new country to the military alliance requires unanimous approval.

The visiting senators warned they would submit a joint resolution to Congress condemning alleged democratic backsliding in Hungary and urging the government of Orbán to lift its block on Sweden’s trans-Atlantic integration.

“With accession, Hungary and your prime minister will be doing a great service to freedom-loving nations worldwide,” Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said in Budapest.

ESSENTIAL ALLY

Sweden is seen as an essential ally as NATO seeks further expansion after Russia invaded Ukraine some two years ago.

With pressure mounting, Orbán appeared to have relented, saying he advised Parliament to vote for accession on Monday.

His Swedish counterpart’s arrival on Friday, just a weekend shy of the eventual vote, was more seen as a face-saving photo opportunity for Orbán.

Sweden has made clear it won’t back down on its views on respecting democratic norms but was ready to discuss security arrangements with Hungary.

It was also a way for Orbán to take away attention from ongoing protests against the state’s handling of child protection after the resignation of the country’s president.

Katalin Novák, Hungary’s first female president, stepped down this month after it emerged that she had given a pardon to the vice director of an orphanage involved in covering up the sexual abuse of children by the institution’s director.

Another woman, Judit Varga, a former justice minister who countersigned the pardon last year, also resigned as a legislator.

The governing party suggested Tamás Sulyok, the current head of the Constitutional Court, for head of state with a vote expected as early as next week.