On a recent trip to Strasbourg, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had…promised to break several bottles of champagne if his friend Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

politico in an extensive article, analyzes which European leaders feel victorious after Trump’s return to the White House, putting Orbán first on the list, of course. As it is pointed out, now the Hungarian prime minister has the opportunity to implement his promise in front of the leaders of the European Union in Budapest.

Trump’s victory now offers an opportunity for countries seeking to resist the EU’s mainstream.

As the article states, they feel they have more political cover to block Brussels on policies ranging from sanctions against Russia to “green” reforms.

France’s fragile government threatened by a fiscal black hole and Germany’s collapsing governing coalition offer more room for Orbán’s conservative friends.

Macron has been severely weakened at home after snap elections saw the far-right National Rally party win the most seats in parliament.

In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in the midst of a major crisis as his governing coalition crumbles.

Melon

In addition to Orban, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as well as Austrian Chancellor Karl Neuhammer are ideologically close to Trump – although Meloni does not share Orban’s pro-Russian stance.

For Andrea DiGiuseppe, a member of the Italian parliament from the Italian prime minister’s party that represents Italians in North America, Trump’s victory strengthens Meloni personally. “Today in Europe, Meloni will have a primary role. When it comes to working with Trump, she is the only conservative among the EU’s founding members and major economies in Europe, and her approach is very similar to Trump’s.”

Orban’s agenda

For Orban, Trump’s election represents an opportunity for the West to redefine its role, with conservative values ​​dominating.

Orban, who has reconciled with Russian President Vladimir Putin and met with him in recent weeks, also called for a “new European strategy” for Ukraine. European leaders will “buck” their continued economic and military support for Ukraine if Trump cuts US aid.

Macron and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski argued on Wednesday that Trump’s return to the White House should push Europe to take more responsibility for its own security. A few days before the vote, the Polish prime minister wrote to X that the era of “geopolitical outsourcing” is coming to an end.

Finally, several diplomats are cautious as they believe that rather than bringing EU powers closer, Trump’s election will divide them as each country will bilaterally try to curry favor with Washington.