LNG Lobby And Globalist Background: Introducing Anita Orban, Tisza’s Prospective Foreign Minister

According to Monday’s announcement by Peter Magyar, the frontrunner for the foreign affairs ministry is Anita Orban, who comes from the globalist sphere and has held various positions within organizations linked to the Soros network, while also working for energy companies. Over the past decade and a half, she has lobbied for replacing Russian natural gas with significantly more expensive American LNG. Anita Orban’s name also surfaced in connection with the Panyi case that erupted following the wiretapping of Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto: in a recording that became public, left-leaning journalist Szabolcs Panyi described the politician as a longtime friend and spoke about having influence over the personnel decisions she might make as Tisza’s foreign minister.

Peter Magyar, president of the Tisza Party, and Anita Orban (Source: Facebook/Anita Orban)

Following Tisza’s parliamentary group meeting on Monday, Peter Magyar named seven prospective ministers, one of whom is Anita Orban. The would-be head of the foreign ministry, who comes from the globalist sphere, has held important positions at two major organizations that are part of George Soros’s network.

In The Same Body As Bajnai

Until January of this year, the prospective foreign minister was a member of the council of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), appearing in that role before emerging as Tisza’s foreign policy expert. On the council, she served alongside figures such as Alexander Soros, son of the billionaire, former left-wing prime minister Gordon Bajnai, and David Koranyi, head of Action for Democracy, known from the “rolling dollars” scandal. The other such organization is one of the best-known Atlanticist-globalist security policy institutes, Globsec, where Anita Orban also served for years as a board member. There, too, she worked alongside Mr. Bajnai and Mr. Koranyi.

The LNG Lobbyist

The former journalist has also worked in the energy industry: between 2015 and 2020 she was active in the American liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, first at Cheniere and later at Tellurian, where she was responsible for markets in Central Europe, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. However, even well before holding these positions, she had advocated replacing Russian gas with the significantly more expensive American alternative in Europe. For example, in a 2012 opinion piece published by The Washington Post, she argued that the United States had an opportunity to become a key player in global natural gas exports and to strengthen its ties with the Visegrad Four. In 2009, she told the Ukrainian-language edition of Radio Free Europe that the then-planned South Stream gas pipeline would tie Central Europe to Russian gas indefinitely. It is worth recalling that Gazprom’s project bypassing Ukraine ultimately faltered due to legislation in Brussels; instead, TurkStream was built, also circumventing EU objections.

Lecture At Soros’s University

In a lecture delivered in February 2014 at George Soros’s university, the Central European University (CEU), Anita Orban also advocated for American LNG. A few months later, she did the same before members of the U.S. Congress, urging the Washington body to authorize exports of liquefied natural gas. Sharply simplifying the market situation at the time, she claimed that the region “currently has no alternative pipeline gas available, therefore the most viable solution would be access to the LNG market.” Neither of these claims was accurate in that form.

The prospective foreign minister of Tisza also wrote in her doctoral doctoral dissertation that, in her view, displacing Russian energy is the most important strategic priority for the region. In the work, later published in book form, Anita Orban argued that the transition is necessary even if it entails significant additional costs, both in terms of energy prices and the construction of new infrastructure.

Friend Of Szabolcs Panyi

Anita Orban’s name also appeared in the scandal that broke during the election campaign in connection with the wiretapping of Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. In March, an audio recording was made public revealing that Szabolcs Panyi, a journalist for Direkt36 and VSquare, maintained contacts with foreign intelligence services. The Hungarian journalist provided Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto's phone number to the intelligence service of a European Union member state, thereby enabling the monitoring of the Hungarian foreign minister’s phone conversations. He also disclosed notable details about his relationship with Anita Orban. According to his account, he is not only her friend but also works together with the Tisza politician. Mr. Panyi claimed he continues to assist her with professional matters, “things related to the profession.” Moreover, according to the journalist, he is in such a close relationship with Anita Orban that he can make specific recommendations regarding whom she should retain or dismiss if she becomes foreign minister. Mr. Panyi also noted that he had previously worked on Anita Orban’s campaign team when she ran as a Fidesz parliamentary candidate in 2010.

Between 2010 and 2015, Anita Orban also served as Hungary’s ambassador-at-large for energy security, and from 2021 to 2023 she was deputy CEO of Vodafone Hungary, from where she moved to the company’s London headquarters.

Cover photo: Peter Magyar, president of the Tisza Party, and Anita Orban (Source: Facebook/Anita Orban)