Elections in Hungary

Russia suggests staged assassination attempt against Orbán – to increase his support in the election

In a secret report, Russia's SVR intelligence service suggests a method called "the gamechanger" in Hungary – a staged assassination attempt against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to gather his voter base before the election. This is shown by an internal SVR report that the Washington Post has seen via a European intelligence service.

Such an attack would shift the focus to a more "emotional" election where stability would be important, the report says.

The report points to how important it is for Russia to keep its close ally in power in Hungary, the newspaper writes. However, there have been no attacks on Orbán.

The Hungarian government and the SVR do not want to comment, while the Kremlin calls the news "disinformation".

Challenger Peter Magyar, who is also a conservative but who pursues an anti-corruption line, is leading in the polls. The election will be held on April 12.

Trump on Orbán: “Hope he wins big”

US President Donald Trump expresses his support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a video greeting at the CPAC conference in Budapest. This is reported by the Hungarian independent news site Telex.hu.

– I hope he wins. I hope he wins big. And despite all the attacks, you have to understand: He keeps winning – that’s what we all have in common. We want to win, Trump continues.

Viktor Orbán is running for re-election but his 16-year hold on power is being challenged. In several opinion polls, he is behind opposition leader Péter Magyar, despite Orbán being backed by some of the world’s most powerful leaders.

The Hungarian leader responded to the video by showering Trump with his own praise in his speech at the conference.

– The Western world has become a better place since Trump's victory, he says, according to the Hungarian news site 444.