Can Hungary's new leader wean his country off cheap Russian energy?
Hungary's politics have shifted definitively away from Russia and toward Europe, but quitting a cheap Russian energy habit could be painful.
Kyiv – In the hours before Peter Magyar defeated Hungary's longtime leader Viktor Orbán in Sunday's landmark election, Magyar's supporters filled the streets of Budapest chanting "Russians out!"
The mandate was clear for the incoming prime minister , who had described Orbán as a "puppet of the Kremlin" in his campaign speeches and long pledged to reduce Russia's influence in Hungary.
The question now is whether Magyar will make good on that promise. As he attempts to pull Hungary out of Russia's sphere of influence, he faces a central roadblock: Magyar will have to find ways to wean his country off Russia's cheap energy products, which have, during many years of close ties, been a lifeline for Hungary's ailing economy.
Experts say there are alternatives to Russian energy — but they warn that the new prime minister and his constituents will have to accept financial trade-offs to make the transition.
During his 16 years in power, Orbán deepened Hungary's reliance on Russian oil, gas and nuclear power. Hungary gets the majority of its crude oil via Russia's Druzhba pipeline, and most of its natural gas through contracts with Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom.
Hungary's nuclear power plants rely heavily on Russia's state-owned energy company Rosatom, which has been building reactors at the Hungarian Paks Nuclear Power Plant since 2014.