Instead it wants something that is perhaps even more of a threat to the EU’s future: it wants to stay part of the union – and subvert it from the inside. While Hungary has traditionally played a minor role within European politics, Orbán’s ambitions turned him into the leading populist voice in contemporary Europe. Sunday’s referendum was his latest attempt to build political momentum for an illiberal European future – and Orbán himself presented the vote as a victory. “It’s clearly a disappointing result for Orbán and I think his European ambitions will suffer as a result. In domestic politics, he’ll try to spin that he won this – but it doesn’t send a strong message to Brussels.

Source: The Guardian October 02, 2016 21:42 UTC