Viktor Orbán celebrated by Europe’s far right before Hungary election

France’s Marine Le Pen and the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders among speakers praising prime minister at Budapest event

Marine Le Pen has called Viktor Orbán “an exceptional leader” and Geert Wilders hailed “a lion on a continent led by sheep” as Europe’s far-right figureheads rallied round Hungary’s prime minister before an election that polls suggest he may lose.

“Hungary has become a symbol in Europe of a proud and sovereign people’s resistance against oppression,” Le Pen, parliamentary leader of France’s the National Rally (RN), told a gathering of EU-sceptical leaders in Budapest on Monday.