Officials in the Trump administration are supporting the nomination of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for the position of United Nations secretary-general, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper reports that Orbán could emerge as a joint candidate backed by the United States, Russia and China, citing sources in all three countries who say the Trump administration is supporting his candidacy.
Orbán lost power in Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April, when Péter Magyar’s Tisza party defeated him by an absolute majority, ending his 16 years in government.
His far-right, hardline anti-immigration and Eurosceptic policies, together with the deterioration of the rule of law in Hungary, strained relations with Western allies, including the European Union and NATO. Nevertheless, Orbán maintained close ties with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Since the election, Hungarian authorities have launched fraud and corruption investigations involving several members of Orbán’s former government. Two former ministers and the former governor of Hungary’s National Bank are under arrest, and authorities could also examine Orbán’s possible involvement in these cases.
According to the Wall Street Journal, no final decision has been made on the proposal. A US State Department official acknowledged that the idea might initially sound “crazy” but said previous discussions with Washington suggested that Russia and China also supported it.
The aim, according to the report, is to put forward Orbán as a joint candidate of all three countries.
The White House, Moscow and Beijing have not confirmed the report.
