Milorad Dodik, leader of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska ruling SNSD party, called on Serbs living in Hungary on Saturday to back Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
Speaking from Budapest, where he attended a Fidesz party campaign event, Dodik said Hungary and Republika Srpska “share the same values” and praised Orbán as a leader willing to protect national interests and the freedom of his people.
“I urge Serbs living in Hungary to support Viktor Orbán and the policies that safeguard Hungary’s stability, identity, and sovereignty,” Dodik wrote on social media platform X.
Orbán, speaking at the same event, lauded Dodik as a courageous and determined politician who has survived U.S. sanctions, German pressure, and political challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “We would have collapsed if we had endured even half of what Dodik has survived. But he succeeded, and we thank him for being here today,” Orbán said.
The event, held under the banner of the U.S.-based Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), is a global network for conservative leaders and groups advocating sovereignty, freedom, and nationalist policies. Dodik met Orbán before the conference, describing Republika Srpska as having “strong friends” in the world ahead.
Hungary’s elections are scheduled for April 12, with opinion polls indicating growing support for opposition leader Peter Magyar and his Tisa party. Despite the trend, Orbán has predicted victory.