Orbán Travels to Warsaw to Meet Former Ally Kaczyński

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is visiting Warsaw for a meeting with Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Poland's Law and Justice party (PiS), in an apparent bid to revive their once-close political alliance. The meeting comes after a significant setback for Orbán's regional influence: Law and Justice, which had been a key partner of Orbán's Fidesz party in building a bloc of nationalist, sovereigntist governments in Central Europe, lost power in Poland's October 2023 elections to a pro-European coalition led by Donald Tusk. Kaczyński, though no longer in government, remains the chairman of PiS and a powerful figure within the Polish right-wing opposition. Orbán and Kaczyński were previously central figures in the Visegrád group's hardline wing, united by opposition to EU migration policy, rule-of-law conditionality, and support for traditional social values. With that alignment weakened by Law and Justice's electoral defeat, Orbán appears to be seeking to shore up ties with like-minded partners as he navigates increasing isolation within the European Union, where his government faces ongoing disputes over democratic standards and his conciliatory stance toward Russia.