From the perspective of a Central European reader, the news that Zbigniew Ziobro has been granted political asylum in Hungary is not merely another sensational headline from domestic politics. It is a symbolic event that exposes deeper tensions within Central Europe—tensions between the rule of law, state sovereignty, and political solidarity built across borders.
For many audiences in Poland and neighboring countries, political asylum is associated with dissidents fleeing authoritarian regimes, not with a former justice minister of a European Union member state. This is precisely why Budapest’s decision causes such disorientation. When a politician who for years stood at the helm of the state’s coercive apparatus now presents himself as a victim of political persecution, the key question is no longer simply “is he right?”, but rather “what does this say about the condition of institutions in our region?”.
From a Central European standpoint, the Hungarian context is crucial. The governments of Viktor Orbán have for years cultivated a narrative of “illiberal democracy” and mutual support for politicians who come into conflict with EU institutions. Granting asylum to Ziobro can be read as another element of this strategy—a gesture of political loyalty toward an ideological ally, and at the same time a signal of defiance toward the legal standards promoted by Brussels.
For readers in the region, however, a fundamental doubt arises: is asylum in Central Europe becoming a tool of political maneuvering rather than the protection of human rights? If a former minister of one EU state receives protection in another EU state in order to avoid legal accountability at home, the mechanisms of mutual trust—one of the foundations of European cooperation—are seriously strained. In practice, this may set a dangerous precedent for the entire region.
Ziobro’s case also highlights differing understandings of the rule of law in Central Europe. For some, holding former decision-makers accountable is a necessary element of democratic change. For others, it is evidence of “political revenge.” This dispute is not new, but it has never before taken such a dramatic form as the flight of one of the most influential politicians of the past decade beyond his own country’s borders.
From a regional perspective, then, this event goes far beyond the individual figure of Zbigniew Ziobro. It illustrates how fragile legal solidarity in Central Europe can be, and how easily it may be replaced by ideological solidarity. For citizens, the lingering question is whether this path leads to a strengthening of state sovereignty, or rather to a further erosion of trust—both between countries in the region and between citizens and the institutions that are meant to uphold the law.
