(12 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Budapest, Hungary – 12 February 2025
1. Pan of Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, and Alice Weidel, co-leader of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, arriving at press conference
2. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s Prime Minister:
"AfD is not a party that the leader is welcomed by prime ministers in every European country. But it is time to change that."
3. Journalists at press conference
4. SOUNDBITE (German) Alice Weidel, co-leader of Alternative for Germany:
"We at the Alternative for Germany have noticed that the relationship towards our neighbours has deteriorated. First and foremost, with Hungary but also with our old partners, the great powers of Russia and China. My primary goal is to repair and improve these relationships. That is the reason why I have travelled to your fabulous capital of Budapest."
5. Pan of press conference
6. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s Prime Minister:
"From the Hungarian point of view, I can say that we hope that there will be a government in Germany which economic policies serve the interest of the Hungarian economy as well. Today, I became convinced that AfD has such a programme."
7. Zoom in on Orbán and Weidel shaking hands
8. Pan of Orbán and Weidel leaving
STORYLINE:
Hungary’s nationalist prime minister on Wednesday hosted a German far-right party’s candidate for chancellor in Germany’s upcoming elections, a rare gesture from a sitting European leader to a party which Germany’s mainstream politicians are trying hard to contain.
Viktor Orbán met with Alice Weidel, co-president of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in Budapest’s opulent Carmelite Monastery, Orbán’s headquarters, where they held talks Wednesday morning.
In a news conference following their meeting, Orbán said the AfD’s support in Germany had reached a level where cooperation was possible with the party that most other’s in Europe had kept at a distance.
"AfD is not a party that the leader is welcomed by prime ministers in every European country. But it is time to change that” Orbán said, adding that all of the far-right party’s platform, from immigration to the economy, would be “beneficial for Hungary” if it were implemented in Germany.
Orbán’s decision to meet with Weidel was a break from the right-wing nationalist’s earlier policy of keeping the AfD at arm’s length despite their similar views on issues like immigration and the belief that the European Union plays too strong a role in the affairs of its member countries.
Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed in November in a dispute over how to revitalise the country’s stagnant economy.
Recent polls have shown AfD in second place ahead of the election, with support of about 20%.
However, other parties say they won’t work with it, and Weidel has no realistic path to becoming Germany’s next leader.
The Hungarian leader’s willingness to meet with Weidel was the latest outside endorsement for the AfD, which has been placed under observation by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency for suspected extremism — an accusation the AfD strongly rejects.
In December, tech billionaire Elon Musk drew strong criticism in Germany for endorsing the AfD. In January, he amplified the party’s message on his X social media platform by hosting a livestream with Weidel.
Musk said he was “strongly recommending” that Germans vote for the AfD in upcoming elections.
AP video shot by Balazs Kaufmann
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