Hungary, Vance from Orbán on the eve of the vote: 'He will win the elections'

The Vice President of the United States, J. D. Vance, travelled to Hungary to support the election campaign of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The visit comes just days before the parliamentary elections, which will be held Sunday 12 April. The vote, according to some independent polls, could end the tenure of Orbán, who was first elected in 2010.

According to Vance, Orban 'will win the election'. The US vice-president - during the joint rally following the meeting with Orban - stated that 'one of the reasons why the US president sent me here is because we believe that the interference of the Brussels bureaucracy against the Hungarian premier was truly shameful'.

Péter Magyar, leader of Tisza, Hungary's main opposition party and favourite in the polls, described the meeting as 'a piloted move to influence the vote'.

"Elections are the citizens' exclusive choice. Together, the Commission and the member states are building a stronger and more independent Europe'. This was stated to Ansa by a spokeswoman for the European Commission, responding to accusations of interference by "EU bureaucrats" made by US Vice-President JD Vance at a press conference in Budapest with Viktor Orban. "In Europe, elections are not decided by Big Tech and their algorithms," the spokeswoman added, recalling that the European Digital services act serves to "mitigate risks to protect our democracies".

The support from the US comes at a critical time for the nationalist Orbán. The Hungarian prime minister, in power for 16 years, faces a growing economic and social discontent. In this context, polls from independent institutes predict a landslide victory for the Magyar party.