<p>Viktor Orbán has been a thorn in the side of the EU and a favourite of Donald Trump. But his party is now behind in the polls ahead of next month’s Hungarian elections.&nbsp;So could this mark the end of the Orbán era? Gideon discusses this with Zsuzsanna Végh, an analyst at the German Marshall Fund. They also discuss Orbán's close relationship with Russia and hostility to Ukraine. <em>Clip: APT</em></p><br><p><strong>Free links to read more on this topic: </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/71982da9-c7b3-472c-9260-8402648bfa4b?accessToken=zwAAAZ3AKuKLlc9xmC2px7NHLNOSYIQCZIv6S9OFIQGHx1dEMtO7V2tjamaecs803yD5SHtMttOdydZ22VnR7c8eRNudFQZMJNO3tNdDwbtKu89wwg_2l3hPl9OQK9PIWbWTOQE.MEQCICO8OvMlQ040tQ4yXgZzy6RLDbBgKq-olIynqeTOErfSAiAkfZlKYpS2MK_ub5LSd59tEXQijvCt690C3GCnRR-qSw&amp;segmentId=8978e9c0-1eba-4a83-da29-db2c2eaf2e61" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ECB warns Hungary’s seizure of Ukraine cash risks euro credibility</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/85210187-c757-4432-bb57-6b636a669e72?accessToken=zwAAAZ3AKuKLlc9xmC2px7NHLNOSYIQCZIv6S9OFIQGHx1dEMtO7V2tjamaecs803yD5SHtMttOdydZ22VnR7c8eRNudFQZMJNO3tNdDwbtKu89wwg_2l3hPl9OQK9PIWbWTOQE.MEQCICO8OvMlQ040tQ4yXgZzy6RLDbBgKq-olIynqeTOErfSAiAkfZlKYpS2MK_ub5LSd59tEXQijvCt690C3GCnRR-qSw&amp;segmentId=8978e9c0-1eba-4a83-da29-db2c2eaf2e61" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hungarian opposition groups quit to make way for Orbán challenger</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/34df20f9-487b-4cb6-9dc9-d676d959d1ed?accessToken=zwAAAZ3AKuKLlc9xmC2px7NHLNOSYIQCZIv6S9OFIQGHx1dEMtO7V2tjamaecs803yD5SHtMttOdydZ22VnR7c8eRNudFQZMJNO3tNdDwbtKu89wwg_2l3hPl9OQK9PIWbWTOQE.MEQCICO8OvMlQ040tQ4yXgZzy6RLDbBgKq-olIynqeTOErfSAiAkfZlKYpS2MK_ub5LSd59tEXQijvCt690C3GCnRR-qSw&amp;segmentId=8978e9c0-1eba-4a83-da29-db2c2eaf2e61" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kremlin backs covert campaign to keep Viktor Orbán in power</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/1e44db9d-1506-4c24-b7b4-d743c1bb4abb?accessToken=zwAAAZ3AKuKLlc9xmC2px7NHLNOSYIQCZIv6S9OFIQGHx1dEMtO7V2tjamaecs803yD5SHtMttOdydZ22VnR7c8eRNudFQZMJNO3tNdDwbtKu89wwg_2l3hPl9OQK9PIWbWTOQE.MEQCICO8OvMlQ040tQ4yXgZzy6RLDbBgKq-olIynqeTOErfSAiAkfZlKYpS2MK_ub5LSd59tEXQijvCt690C3GCnRR-qSw&amp;segmentId=8978e9c0-1eba-4a83-da29-db2c2eaf2e61" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The riches of Viktor Orbán’s home village</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/70c20ff6-9778-4f97-902b-d3c859b59339?accessToken=zwAAAZ3AKuKLlc9xmC2px7NHLNOSYIQCZIv6S9OFIQGHx1dEMtO7V2tjamaecs803yD5SHtMttOdydZ22VnR7c8eRNudFQZMJNO3tNdDwbtKu89wwg_2l3hPl9OQK9PIWbWTOQE.MEQCICO8OvMlQ040tQ4yXgZzy6RLDbBgKq-olIynqeTOErfSAiAkfZlKYpS2MK_ub5LSd59tEXQijvCt690C3GCnRR-qSw&amp;segmentId=8978e9c0-1eba-4a83-da29-db2c2eaf2e61" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Viktor Orbán’s oligarchs reaped billions in public contracts</a></p><br><p>Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.</p><p>Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Sean McGarrity.</p><p>Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/gideonrachman.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@gideonrachman.bsky.social</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/gideonrachman" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@gideonrachman</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/7309e206-0050-476d-94ec-ca14781be1ee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</strong></a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>