GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Viktor Orbán's last stand, and the future of Europe's far right with Ivan Krastev
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Apr 4, 2026 
Ivan Krastev, political scientist and chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, unpacks Viktor Orbán's role as a linchpin of Europe’s new right. He discusses Orbán’s ties to China and Russia, his 19th-century nationalist roots, and why upcoming Hungarian political shifts could ripple across EU policy, Ukraine, and international alignments.
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Orban As Hub For Europe's New Right
- Viktor Orban functions as the ideological, institutional, and financial hub for Europe's new right and offers political asylum and banking to far-right parties.
- Ivan Krastev compares Orban's role to Fidel Castro for the left, making Hungary seem like the place where the conservative revolution is happening.
Orban's China First Economic Strategy
- Economically Orban bets on China, not the U.S., because Hungary blocks EU anti-China measures and attracts disproportionate Chinese investment.
- Krastev notes Chinese investment in Hungary exceeds that in Germany and France combined to secure veto support in the EU.
Orban Rooted In Historical Hungarian Nationalism
- Orban's ideology roots in 19th-century Hungarian nationalism and the post-WWI loss trauma, aligning him closer to Putin than Trump.
- Krastev explains Orban emphasizes Hungarian history and ethnic democracy over Trumpian populism.