The best defense is offense. JD Vance made extensive use of this adage on Tuesday by denouncing foreign interference in the Hungarian elections. Not his own. But that of Europeans in the Hungarian legislative elections. He did so from Budapest, at a press conference on the side of Viktor Orban, whom he came to support against his opponent, Péter Magyar, lagging in the polls.
The Vice President of the United States does not see any contradiction. It is not incompetence but shameless application of a proven political method: rhetorical reversal. Make no mistake: in his mind, there is no contradiction, but a formidable coherence, provided one understands the conceptual framework in which he operates.
Nothing Above the Nation
For JD Vance, nothing exists above the nation. Not the UN, nor the International Criminal Court, nor the European Union. Nor any general principles of international law. What emanates from these institutions is not law but disguised coercion in the form of law. And the coercion exercised on a sovereign people by entities they did not elect has a name: interference.
Therefore, JD Vance’s plea unfolds in a counter-discourse that derives its logic from itself: European institutions that allocate European funds and initiate procedures against Hungary in the name of the rule of law interfere in the life of a sovereign state.
When Washington sends the Vice President to applaud the outgoing Prime Minister a few days before the April 12 election, what is it then? Fraternity between free nations. And the game is played!
Hungary is Free to Leave the EU
Viktor Orban has been playing this tune for about a decade. He needed an enemy to mobilize his supporters: and it was the “Eurocrats” of Brussels, a general and convenient term that overlooks a truth. The obligations Hungary undertook under the EU Treaty were accepted freely by the Hungarians. They do not bind Hungary to an abstract entity but to its partners including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Croatia, etc. Hungarians are also free to leave the European Union at any time by triggering Article 50, like the British. No one is holding them back by force, especially not at this moment.
The United States has at least the consistency to leave international organizations they disparage. Viktor Orban, on the other hand, does not consider for a second distancing himself from the EU, knowing all too well that he would then be prey to a dangerous neighbor, his friend Putin, whom he fears more than he admits.
The Cruel Dependency on European Funds
This is the fragility of the whole structure. Viktor Orban’s sovereignty is sovereignty on life support. Since its accession, Hungary has received tens of billions of euros in cohesion funds. It continues to demand payment, even in the heart of the most bitter disputes with Brussels. One does not bite the hand that feeds you; one denounces it, while making sure to keep it extended.
JD Vance is well aware of this dependency. He accommodates it perfectly. What he came to sell in Budapest is not a model of independence but a story of resistance. The nuance is crucial. Viktor Orban does not need to leave the EU for the story to work. He needs Brussels to remain menacing, visible, hated – and for Washington to remain, in comparison, the great paternal ally who respects nations as they are.
This setup is named in international relations manuals: the consensual protectorate. Viktor Orban is Europe’s most accomplished client of this. He simply changed protector. In fact, he has several, taking out insurance here and there: to Moscow for oil and nuclear technology for his Paks power plant; to Beijing to become the European hub for the massive flow of ‘Made in China’ products.
The Illiberal West promoted by JD Vance
What happened in Budapest on Tuesday is not just an electoral operation. It is a grand demonstration of a project to reshape the West: no longer around the multilateral institutions established in 1945, but around an axis of sovereign, Christian, and illiberal nations, with Washington as the pivot and Budapest as the European outpost, hoping that other nations will join the circle in future elections.
Hungarian voters on April 12 are not just voting for a Prime Minister. They are voting on the question of which West they inhabit, which West they want for the coming decade.
