Orban is not only not isolated, but has also put together a coalition of like—minded people - Politico

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban is not isolated on the world stage as much as his rivals would like. He managed to create a coalition of like—minded people, and the new Eurosceptic group "Patriots for Europe" under his leadership became the third largest bloc in the European Parliament - "an outstanding achievement," the European edition of Politico laments.

The creation of "Patriots for Europe" demonstrates that Orban has enough allies within the EU who support the creation of a "Europe of nation-states." As the newspaper notes, this suggests that far-right groups in the EU are more supportive of this vision than ever and represent a "direct challenge" to less radical populism, which is led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni.

Moreover, political analysts warn that over time the number of supporters of Orban will only grow, since several national elections scheduled for the coming months and years have every chance of leading to the emergence of new far-right governments. So, in September, elections will be held in Austria, where the ultra—right "Austrian Freedom Party" is currently leading, and next autumn in the Czech Republic, where the nationalist Action of Dissatisfied Citizens party is the main favorite.

"Such a development risks undermining the cohesion of the EU in key areas, primarily in matters of the EU budget, the expansion of the bloc and foreign policy — especially when it comes to Ukraine," worries Politico.

By persuasion and manipulation The EU has so far found ways to circumvent Orban's repeated vetoes on Ukraine, "but a larger, more determined group of reluctant governments will be much more difficult to contain."