Orban gets the finger at last

One of the frustrating elements of the West's attempts to defend Ukraine against Russia's assault is the ability of Hungary's Viktor Orban and Turkey's Recip Erdogan to block that aid. Both are popularly elected dictators ("strongmen" is the polite term) like Putin himself, and they're happy to play footsie with Putin to advance their own interests. Turkey is a full-fledged member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, though luckily Brussels never got around to bringing it into the European Union. Hungary belongs to both organizations -- and both are run by consensus. Now the EU at least has stopped humoring Mr Orban.

"My personal priority is to have an agreement by 27 [member countries]," said EU president Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, referring to a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine. "And if this is not possible, we are prepared for an agreement by 26."

Good for her! If Hungary and Turkey sacrifice the West's interests to advance their own, they belong neither in NATO nor the EU. There's apparently no mechanism to throw them out, but they can certainly be ignored.