Viktor Orban, the EU leader who can’t quit Putin, faces a united front in Hungary’s election

The stakes were already high. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the law a “shame” that goes against EU values, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte went as far as saying Hungary “has no place in the EU anymore.”But putting the issue to a referendum alongside a national election vote has been dismissed as a stunt by many observers. “The Hungarian population is not very liberal when it comes to cultural issues,” but it doesn’t have strong feelings about LGBT+ people, Virag said. “Even before the war it was a minor issue.”Rhetoric around the referendum has been far eclipsed by the parliamentary vote, and it is possible it will not reach the threshold of valid votes from 50% of the electorate required to be deemed valid — the same fate that befell a similarly controversial 2016 referendum on EU migrant quotas. The LGBTQ+ education law is nonetheless already in force.The results of the referendum, however, are unlikely to deter Orban if he claims the main prize of another four years in office.A failure by the united opposition front would give further proof of Orban’s dominance over Hungarian politics, and if he claims a sizable majority, he would be expected quickly to move to consolidate his position further.”With each election, Hungary is becoming more and more illiberal. The election is becoming more and more unfair,” Krekó said.”If the opposition cannot reach a majority, or push Orban into a very tight majority, the next time will be even more difficult.”