The German chancellor has so far failed to form a coalition government after talks with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) collapsed in November and with fresh negotiations set to start on Sunday, Mrs Merkel faces growing pressure to agree a deal.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, who has clashed repeatedly with Mrs Merkel over her decision to welcome more than one million asylum seekers into Germany, has been invited to speak at the winter gathering of Bavaria’s conservative party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
The CSU and Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) share an alliance and only differ slightly in their political views, but Mr Orban’s invitation is an indication that the Bavarians will not compromise on their demands for tougher measures to deter migrants.
Mr Orban addressed the CSU back in September 2015, at the height of the migrant crisis, and blasted Mrs Merkel’s “moral imperialism”.
He said: “I do not doubt Germany’s right to define its moral obligations for itself.
“They can decide if they accept every refugee or not… that should only be compulsory for them.
“We are Hungarians, however, we cannot think with German minds. Hungary should have the right to control the impact of a mass migration.”
The countries have since been divided on how to deal with asylum seekers arriving at Europe’s borders.
Mr Orban put up a razor wire fence along Hungary’s southern border and joined other EU rebels including Poland and the Czech Republic in refusing to accept migrant quotas.
On Wednesday, Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited Mr Orban in Budapest as the pair vowed to continue fighting against the implementation of EU quotas.
In a thinly veiled reference to Mrs Merkel, Mr Orban said: “It is clear that the European people do not want immigration, while several European leaders are still forcing the failed immigration policy.”
The growing rifts between east and west Europe look set to plunge the EU into a fresh crisis this new year as Poland and Hungary continue to rebel against the bloc’s push for more integration.
Brussels is preparing to sue Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic for refusing to take in any refugees under the bloc’s mandatory quota scheme, disputing the fact it was adopted by a qualified majority vote and citing security concerns.
Despite a drop in the number of refugees seeking asylum in Europe following tighter border controls and a range of EU-funded projects to discourage migration to Europe, the three Eastern European countries have maintained their hardline stance against allowing more migrants to settle.
They claim the mainly-Muslim refugees have no place in their predominantly Christian societies and cite security concerns following a series of terror attacks carried out by Islamist militants in western Europe.