One month before Hungary’s parliamentary election, campaign posters featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the slogan “We will not let Zelensky have the last laugh” appeared across Budapest and other cities. As a result, the Ukrainian leader has become one of the most visible figures in the ruling Fidesz party’s campaign, even though the vote concerns Hungary’s domestic politics.
Many observers see this as a continuation of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s earlier strategy of rallying voters around the image of an external enemy during a difficult campaign. In previous years, George Soros played a similar role in government rhetoric, and the posters used almost the same appeal about not letting him “have the last laugh.”
The central theme of the current campaign is anti-war messaging. Fidesz rallies are being held under that banner, and the government’s position is reduced to the formula “this is not our war,” which already brought the party political gains after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This line is now reinforced by claims that support for Kyiv could drag Hungary into the conflict and damage its ties with Russia, which supplies the country with energy resources.
The article’s authors argue that for Orban, the clash with Zelensky has both practical and symbolic importance. The war in Ukraine remains part of Europe’s political agenda, while the EU’s policy toward Moscow is becoming harsher and its backing for Kyiv more consistent. Against that background, Budapest’s cautious stance is increasingly viewed in Europe as beneficial to the Kremlin.
Zelensky, for his part, has openly criticized Orban for refusing to involve Hungary more actively in helping Ukraine and for trying to slow broader European decisions. As a result, the confrontation between the two leaders has moved far beyond ordinary diplomatic disagreement and has become part of Hungary’s domestic politics ahead of the 2026 election.