An anti-European Union billboard campaign in Hungary turns up tensions with the Orbán government

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A countrywide billboard campaign that flooded the streets of Hungary this week takes aim at the head of the European Union’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen. It’s the start of an election campaign that marks an escalation of tensions between the country’s right-wing government and the EU. The government-funded ads depict von der Leyen, who has been critical of some of Hungary’s policies, as a sinister figure seeking to impose unwanted policies on Hungary. It’s the latest in a yearslong series of anti-EU moves by Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán. In recent months, some observers have noted a sharpening of Orbán’s anti-EU rhetoric, leading to speculation that he may be leading his country toward Huxit, a Hungarian exit from the bloc.