Hungary is the last holdout for Sweden's NATO membership. So when will Orbán follow Turkey's lead?
After Turkey ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Monday, Hungary became the last member of the military alliance not to have issued its approval
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — With Turkey completing its ratification of Sweden's bid to join NATO, Hungary is the last member of the military alliance not to have given its approval.
After more than a year of delays, and consistent urging from its Western partners to move forward with Sweden's application, the Central European country and its conservative populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, are once again in the spotlight.
Orbán has long promised that Hungary wouldn't be the last NATO member to ratify Sweden's request to join the alliance. Yet Monday's approval in Turkey's parliament has upended those guarantees, and others in the alliance are now asking: When will Budapest follow Ankara's lead?
Hungary's government, Orbán says, is in favor of bringing Sweden into NATO, but lawmakers in his governing Fidesz party remain unconvinced, offended by “blatant lies” from some Swedish politicians that have excoriated the quality of Hungary's democracy.
