Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), arrived in Budapest on Tuesday for a third visit with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. According to her spokesperson, Daniel Tapp, who spoke to Politico, the discussions primarily revolve around the ongoing negotiations for the new multiannual EU budget and a strategy for coordinated voting and action within Brussels.
The visit signifies an evolving political alignment between Weidel and Orbán and their respective political groups. Following the AfD’s decision to establish its own parliamentary group, “Europe of Sovereign Nations” rather than joining Orbán’s “Patriotic Europeans Against the Destruction of Europe” (PEACE) group in the European Parliament, this meeting points toward deeper cooperation.
The encounter occurs shortly after Orbán held talks with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. Hungary has recently indicated a pursuit of closer engagement with China.
