Tusk and Orban the true EU leaders: the Eastern Europe marches on

Brussels – As of Jan. 1, the Polish semester of the EU Council presidency begins. It is the second time in the country’s history. Once again, the person managing European work will be Donald Tusk. The current Polish Prime Minister also headed the government in 2011, when Poland held its first-ever rotating presidency. Just a curiosity, but to a point: a closer look shows the East advancing in Europe with Tusk and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban leading the way.

The two heads of government have in common that they have served as prime ministers during the two rotating presidencies of the EU Council. Viktor Orban was in office in 2011 and is still in office today, and so is Tusk. Two countries with two real leaders, but with divergent paths: since becoming Hungary’s prime minister, Orban has never left the role or seen significant challenges from opposition parties. Unlike Orban, Tusk did not have continuity of government but still pulled the strings in the EU after his term in office.

The logos of the two Polish rotating presidencies of the EU Council. Also in 2011, the prime minister of Poland was Donald Tusk

Poland’s prime minister from 2007 to 2014, Tusk then served as president of the European Council from December 1, 2014, to November 30, 2019, and then took the reins of the European People’s Party (EPP) led in the capacity of president from December 1, 2019 to June 1, 2022. He returned to Poland as leader of the opposition. He won parliamentary elections in October 2023, returning to the head of government on December 12, 2023. In his political career, Angela Merkel played a decisive role. The former German chancellor personally endorsed Tusk, who belonged to the same European political family, the EPP. Once the German leader left the scene, the Pole — and Orban — took on the role of true leader at home and in Europe. Hungary’s Viktor Orban has been prime minister since May 29, 2010, a role he has never left since.

With the end of the premiership of Mark Rutte, who headed the government of the Netherlands from 2010 to 2024, today’s European Union must reckon with these two. They are the real leaders still on the political scene. With Germany weak and France in crisis, the EU is being driven from the East.