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Not so long ago, Poland and Hungary used to be the ultimate power couple of central Europe.
Under Poland’s previous Law and Justice or PiS government, Warsaw and Budapest were inseparable, shielding each other from the EU’s penalties. But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 caused a massive crack.
Poland became Kyiv’s biggest champion, while Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán refused to sever ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The rift grew so deep that even Polish conservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński told Orbán to get his eyes checked over Russian atrocities.
Fast forward to today, and the situation got even more toxic. Budapest has become a safe haven for wanted PiS politicians fleeing Donald Tusk’s new government. Former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro is currently hiding in Hungary, evading 26 criminal charges of corruption and abuse of power.
And the relationship derailed completely this week after reports that Hungary’s foreign minister was allegedly leaking details of EU meetings to Moscow, prompting Tusk to admit that Warsaw has suspected this betrayal for years.
Now, the conflict is tearing Poland itself apart. MAGA-aligned Polish President Karol Nawrocki is defying pro-EU Tusk by travelling to Budapest to stand with Orbán right before the 12 April elections.
It is a tragic twist of history. These two nations shared monarchs in the late Middle Ages, like Louis the Great and Stephen Bathory.
After centuries of surviving empires, world wars and communism together, it seems modern geopolitical alliances and Russian ties are breaking a relationship long defined by the old proverb: “Pole and Hungarian, two good friends, together for the sword and the wine”.
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