Trump officials push Orbán for UN secretary-general, WSJ reports; Russia says it won't nominate him

Trump administration officials are promoting former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as the next UN secretary-general, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Oct. 25 that cites sources in three countries. No final decision has been made. Neither the White House nor Beijing has confirmed the account.

The idea started in Washington, the Journal reported. U.S. officials raised Orbán's name repeatedly while discussing who they wanted in the job, said they were looking for "someone like Orbán," and then asked each other, "Why not Orbán?" They approached him directly.

What the Journal says Washington is counting on

A State Department official conceded the plan sounds "crazy" at first. The same official said earlier talks suggest Russia and China support it, and that the goal is a joint U.S.-Russia-China candidacy. Officials from the U.S. and a second country told the paper that when those three powers want the same thing at the Security Council, "they usually get it."

The State Department official put Orbán at eight of the council's 15 votes "easily," with as many as 10 within reach. A candidate needs nine votes and no veto from the five permanent members. The Journal noted that no country has made a public commitment to back him.

Britain and France hold vetoes. The paper said both tend to be cautious about using them and might not block a candidate favored by the rest of the council. Neither London nor Paris has taken an official position.

Whatever the council recommends must then be approved by the UN General Assembly.

Orbán's position

Orbán was receptive but had reservations about being a nationalist politician, the Journal reported. He is also reluctant to declare unless he is confident he can win. He declined to comment on the report.

The official called him the "dream candidate for MAGA conservatives," pointing to his opposition to mass immigration, liberal nongovernmental organizations and what the official described as entrenched power centers in Hungary's courts and media. A source familiar with the effort told the paper that Trump and Vice President JD Vance would back him if he runs, and that any announcement would likely wait until after the November U.S. midterms.

Trump endorsed Orbán in Hungary's April election, and Vance campaigned for him. It didn't work. Péter Magyar's Tisza party won, ending Orbán's 16 years in power.

Moscow says no

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Alimov rejected the premise in remarks to Interfax. "Neither Russia, the United States, nor China will nominate Orbán because we are permanent members of the UN Security Council and we do not nominate anyone for the position of UN Secretary-General," he said. If the press reports are accurate, he added, the people behind the idea need to find a nominating country.

That is a statement about who would formally put his name forward. It does not say whether Russia would support or oppose him once a candidate is on the table.

The Journal itself laid out the case against him: there are "plenty of reasons," it wrote, including that he would act as an apologist for Vladimir Putin and other dictators. His record of clashing with the European Union while deepening ties with China would also draw scrutiny.

At home, Hungarian authorities have opened fraud and corruption investigations into members of his former government. Two former ministers and the former governor of Hungary's National Bank are under arrest. Authorities could examine whether Orbán was involved, but no charges against him have been reported.

A race that is stuck

The approach comes as the contest to succeed António Guterres has stalled. Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica has led the Security Council's informal straw polls. In the latest round, she and every other candidate drew at least two negative votes from permanent members, according to Israel Hayom. Those votes signal possible vetoes.

Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh, a former UN ambassador for her country, entered the race last week. Her candidacy has the backing of all six Gulf states and the Palestinians.

The Journal quoted an official from a second country on the field: the other candidates are heavy on the "secretary" half of the title, with bureaucratic or behind-the-scenes diplomatic backgrounds. Orbán would be a "general."

What happens next

Another informal Security Council vote is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28. Whether Orbán's name appears on that ballot is unclear, and he has not declared. Guterres's second term ends Dec. 31, which leaves about nine weeks for the council to settle on a recommendation and the General Assembly to confirm it.