France’s Le Pen visits Hungary in bid for nationalist allies

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has held talks with populist Hungarian Prime Minster Viktor Orban in Budapest. At a news conference following Tuesday’s meeting, Le Pen lambasted what she said was emerging “ideological hegemony” in the European Union. She urged deeper cooperation among nationalist political parties that favor diminishing the EU’s power over its member nations. The visit reflected growing efforts by both Orban and Le Pen to consolidate the European right, including politicians and parties that share their anti-immigration views. Orban receiving Le Pen in Hungary’s capital also represented a pivot from the prime minister’s earlier reluctance to be associated with the European far-right.