Alice Weidel, co-leader of the German AfD party, arrived in Budapest on Tuesday for a third visit with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. According to her spokesperson, Daniel Tapp, discussions between the two are focused on the ongoing negotiations for the new multiannual EU budget and exploring potential alignment of voting strategies within the European Union institutions in Brussels.
The meeting signals a deepening political collaboration between the AfD and Orbán’s political group. Previously, the AfD was excluded from joining Orbán’s “Patriotic Europeans Against the Circumvention of National Interests” (PEACE) faction in the European Parliament and subsequently established its own group, “Europe of Sovereign Nations”. This recent visit suggests a move towards closer ties.
The encounter occurs shortly after Orbán held talks with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the People’s Republic of China, reflecting Hungary’s current strategy of enhanced engagement with China.