US wants Orban to be next UN chief – WSJ

The Trump administration sees the former Hungarian leader as a joint candidate from Washington, Moscow, and Beijing, the paper has reported The administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing for former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to become the next UN secretary-general, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Members of Trump’s team have already reached out to Orban, who is open to the idea but will only run if there is confidence that he can secure the job, the paper said in an article on Sunday. The US believes that Russia and China would also support the former Hungarian leader, who would be seen as a joint candidate from the three countries, a State Department official told the outlet. The term of current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expires on December 31.

AP reported last week that none of the seven candidates to replace him, including Costa Rica’s Rebecca Greenspan, Guyana’s Carolyn Rodriguez Birkett, and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi of Argentina, currently have the required support of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC): China, France, Russia, the UK, and US. Moscow blasts UN for ignoring torture of Russian POWs The Trump administration considers Orban to be “the dream MAGA-conservative candidate,” who has the right ideology and knows how to exercise authority, according to the WSJ’s sources. Orban, who left office in Hungary after 16 years in power this May, used to describe his rule as an “illiberal democracy. ” The 63-year-old politician has been a harsh critic of EU’s policies, repeatedly clashing with Brussels over his moves against mass migration, a clampdown on left-wing NGOs, resistance to the LGBTQ+ agenda, and other issues. He was one of the few European…