Opinion

John Walsh: Hungary’s truculence could place Ireland’s cherished national veto at risk

Viktor Orban’s adversarial stance against Brussels is just one aggravating factor we carry into a new year full of danger and uncertainty

Viktor Orban, the authoritarian prime minister of Hungary since 2010, is much closer in style and instinct to President Putin of Russia than the founding principles of the EU Picture: Getty

As 2023 takes its place in the history books, there is an understandable urge to say good riddance in the hope that the new year brings better tidings. However, even the merest perusal of the geopolitical landscape would suggest that such hopes are likely to be forlorn.

There is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine. Indeed, Russia is regaining the initiative at a time when funding for Ukraine has hit roadblocks in ...