Trump officials push Viktor Orbán as joint US-Russia-China candidate for UN secretary-general

Officials in the Trump administration are advocating Viktor Orbán as a candidate for UN secretary-general, with sources in the United States, Russia and China all confirming support for the plan, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Orbán lost power in Hungary's parliamentary election in April, when Péter Magyar's Tisza party defeated him after 16 years of governing with an absolute majority. His hard-right, fiercely anti-migration and eurosceptic policies, together with rule-of-law backsliding, strained relations with Western allies including the European Union and NATO, though he maintained close ties with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Since the election, Hungarian authorities have launched fraud and corruption investigations into several members of his former government, with two former ministers and the former governor of Hungary's National Bank under arrest. Authorities could also examine Orbán's potential involvement in those cases.

A US State Department official told the newspaper the idea sounds unusual at first, but said prior talks with Washington suggested Russia and China also support it. "If the United States, Russia and China want the same thing in the UN Security Council, they usually achieve it," officials from the United States and another country told the paper.

No final decision has been taken. The White House, Moscow and Beijing have not confirmed the plan, and Orbán's spokesperson has not responded to requests for comment, having previously dismissed related reports as "fake news."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Orbán would only run if his victory were assured — a scenario described as currently unlikely. A candidate requires the support of at least nine of the 15 Security Council members, and any of the five permanent members can veto the nomination. France and the United Kingdom, both permanent members, have not signalled support.

The current secretary-general, António Guterres, ends his second five-year term on 31 December.