Boris Johnson has been criticised for congratulating Hungary’s Viktor Orbán on his election victory, despite harsh criticism from international observers who noted the campaign’s intimidating and xenophobic rhetoric.

The foreign secretary tweeted congratulations to Orbán, who will now serve a third consecutive term as prime minister, having campaigned with his Fidesz party almost exclusively on an anti-migration platform.

“Congratulations to Fidesz and Viktor Orbán on winning the elections in Hungary,” Johnson tweeted. “We look forward to working with our Hungarian friends to further develop our close partnership.”

Within hours of Johnson’s tweet, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) criticised the conduct seen during the Hungarian election campaign, saying there was “intimidating and xenophobic rhetoric, media bias and opaque campaign financing”.

The body’s preliminary report found the electoral process was “characterised by a pervasive overlap between state and ruling party resources, undermining contestants’ ability to compete on an equal basis”.

It also found “excessive” spending by the Hungarian government on adverts which mirrored much of Orban’s campaign platform had “significantly compromised” a fair contest.

Fabian Hamilton, the shadow foreign minister, said the OSCE report was “damning” and Johnson’s congratulations were inappropriate.



“It is disgraceful that he has said nothing about the Fidesz government’s shameful record on political freedom, women’s equality and LGBT rights, or Orban’s Islamophobic rhetoric, antisemitic attacks on George Soros, and blatantly racist remarks about the diverse nature of other European countries,” Hamilton said.

The Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader, Jo Swinson, the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said Johnson had “embarrassed the government by congratulating Viktor Orbán on his controversial election victory the same day that the OSCE criticised the fairness of the election”.

“We would expect the foreign secretary to take these allegations more seriously and work with colleagues across Europe to investigate whether the election in Hungary was fair,” she said.

Several anti-Brexit politicians also criticised Johnson’s swiftness to praise Orbán’s victory. Andrew Adonis, the former Labour transport secretary who now fronts the pro-remain Best for Britain campaign, said it was a “deeply inappropriate statement”.

“Viktor Orbán is a dangerous man, whose antisemitism and Putin worship is a threat to democracies all over Europe,” he said. “The best message he could send is to say we’re staying in the EU and, alongside out European friends, will stand up to Orbán’s authoritarianism.”

The Labour MP Peter Kyle, a supporter of the pro-single market Open Britain campaign, said: “It seems there’s not a single authoritarian leader Boris Johnson won’t pander to in pursuit of his hard Brexit fantasy. Viktor Orbán in Hungary is just the latest.

“This is all eerily reminiscent of the Boris Johnson’s shameless sucking up to Donald Trump. It demeans our country and it’s not worthy of his position as foreign secretary.”