The Italian interior minister, Matteo Salvini, and the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, have said they are “walking down the same path” after discussing the formation of a common anti-migration front they said would oppose the policies of the French president.

“We want to change Europe’s commission. We want to protect our borders. We are going to fight pro-migrant policies supported by [Emmanuel] Macron and [George] Soros,” Salvini said after the pair met in Milan.

Q&A Why is Hungary going after George Soros? Show Hide The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has used scaremongering tactics about migrants and refugees as the cornerstone of his politics in the past few years, but in classic populist style he has also required a shadowy, nefarious overlord to target. In Orbán’s case, that figure has been George Soros, who perfectly fits the bill as both insider and outsider in Hungary. Soros was born György Schwartz to a family of Hungarian Jews in 1930, but his father changed their surname to make it more Hungarian. His family split up and lived under assumed identities to escape the Holocaust, and Soros left Hungary in 1947 to study in London. He later emigrated to the US, making billions as an investor and hedge fund manager. His Open Society foundations have donated billions to promoting civil society and human rights, particularly in the former Communist countries of central and eastern Europe. Soros is a favoured target of rightwing governments worldwide, including in Israel. Hungarian officials have used criticism of Soros by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to deflect allegations of antisemitism around their own anti-Soros campaign. However, at times, the rhetoric appears to borrow heavily from antisemitic tropes. In a March speech in which he accused the political opposition of being “Soros candidates”, Orbán referred to his enemies as “not straightforward but crafty; not honest but base; not national but international; does not believe in working but speculates with money”.



Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe

The talks between two of Europe’s most vocal hardline leaders followed a standoff with Brussels after Salvini prevented 177 asylum seekers disembarking from the coastguard ship Ubaldo Diciotti for almost a week as he called for guarantees that other EU member states would take most of them. After his request was refused, Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right League, announced he would meet Orbán to discuss “alternative strategies”.

“European elections are coming. We have to change a lot of things,” Orbán said on Tuesday. “There are two sides at the moment in Europe. One is led by Macron, who is supporting migration. The other one is supported by countries who want to protect their borders. Hungary and Italy belong to the latter.”

It is not the first time Salvini has attacked the French president, who in turn has shown no sympathy for the Italian interior minister. Macron said in June that extremists in “neighbour” countries were betraying European values.

Orbán, whom Salvini has described as a political role model, has been among the most hostile to immigration in Europe and appears to be a natural ally for Salvini. His Fidesz party was re-elected in April, promising to crack down on aid groups it said supported migrants.



“Hungary has shown that we can stop migrants on land. Salvini has shown migrants can be stopped at sea. We thank him for protecting Europe’s borders,” Orbán said.



“We must send migrants back to their countries. Brussels says we cannot do it. They also had said it was impossible to stop migrants on land, but we did it.”



Despite sharing the same anti-migration platform, the two leaders appear to disagree on the relocation of asylum seekers. Salvini is pushing for their distribution among EU nations, whereas Orbán stands with Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in saying no.



Orbán brushed off their differences before the meeting. “Me and Salvini, we seem to share the same destiny. He is my hero,” he told reporters.

He again described Salvini as a “hero” after their talks, saying he “could win the elections in Hungary if he would decide to run”.

Thousands of leftwing activists had gathered in Milan to protest against the two men.

During the standoff over the Diciotti the Italian government threatened to suspend its EU budget contributions. Those stuck onboard were allowed to disembark on Saturday, with Ireland, Albania and Italy’s Catholic Church agreeing to take most of them.



The European commission said threats were unhelpful and called on all countries to find a solution to help the people onboard.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Italian police stand by the Ubaldo Dicotti in Catania, where a group of 177 migrants were prevented from disembarking. Photograph: Orietta Scardino/EPA

“The consequences of the Diciotti case and the way Italy is dealing with migration in general risks destabilising the equilibrium of a Europe that is still glued to its national interests,” said Massimiliano Panarari, a politics professor at Luiss University in Rome.



“Italy has become a laboratory of European populism and risks moving away not only from Europe, but also from western democracies and getting closer, together with Orbán’s Hungary, to [Russia’s Vladimir] Putin, who enjoys Salvini’s manifestations of sympathy.”

The meeting followed talks between the Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and his Czech counterpart, Andrej Babiš, who has opposed relocating refugees and migrants. Conte would visit Moscow in October, Russian news agencies said on Tuesday.



How Matteo Salvini pulled Italy to the far right Read more

Salvini was placed under investigation last week by Italian prosecutors from Agrigento, Sicily, for potential abuse of office, kidnapping and illegal detention, relating to his refusal to allow those onboard the Diciotti to disembark.



Their release will not stop the investigation into Salvini, who governs in coalition with the populist and anti-establishment Five Star Movement, after an election campaign this year in which he vowed to adopt tough polices on immigration.



Salvini has repeatedly said Italy will “no longer be Europe’s refugee camp”, and as first evidence of the new government’s hardline approach closed all Italian seaports to rescue boats operated by non-government organisations in the Mediterranean.