Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power have concluded, and a system widely criticized as an “electoral autocracy” has been dismantled. This change was brought about by a 45-year-old former party insider who successfully persuaded a majority of Hungarians to end it.
“We did it,” Péter Magyar declared to a jubilant crowd of supporters by the River Danube, with Budapest’s magnificent parliament visible across the water. “Together, we have overthrown the Hungarian regime.”
Preliminary election results, based on over 98% of counted votes, indicate his Tisza party is set to secure an extraordinary 138 seats, while Orbán’s Fidesz holds 55, and the far-right Our Homeland party has six.
This landslide victory will not only enable Magyar to reverse Orbán’s increasingly unpopular domestic policies but also reset Hungary’s global relationships.
Orbán had maintained close partnerships with both former US President Donald Trump – even securing an in-person appearance from US Vice-President JD Vance in the campaign’s final week – and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He had also become a significant point of contention for the EU and Ukraine.
Magyar, conversely, campaigned on a platform of distancing Hungary from Russia and fostering more cordial ties with the EU and Ukraine.
For two years, Magyar cultivated his burgeoning movement across villages, town squares, and cities, rallying Hungarians who were weary of the cronyism and corruption that had become endemic in the country over the years.
“Never before in the history of democratic Hungary have so many people voted – and no single party has ever received such a strong mandate,” he stated on Sunday night, following a record 79.5% voter turnout.
Orbán’s rule was established through four successive election victories and sweeping majorities, yet its end became apparent within minutes.
As pro-Magyar supporters waited expectantly in the square on the Buda side of the Danube, the Tisza leader posted an extraordinary message on Facebook: “Viktor Orbán just called me on the phone and congratulated us on our victory.”
There was barely time to process the news, as only 30% of the votes had been counted at that point.
Moments later, Orbán himself appeared on a stage in a conference center a mile downriver on the other side of the Danube, surrounded by his somber-looking Fidesz party colleagues.
“The result of the election is clear and painful,” he told them, thanking the estimated 2.5 million Hungarians who remained loyal. “The days ahead are for us to heal our wounds.”
Word quickly spread among Magyar supporters, and at the nearby hotel serving as party headquarters, Tisza activists embraced each other.
Magyar has pledged to reverse Orbán-era changes to education and health, tackle corruption, restore the independence of the judiciary, and dismantle the widely disliked system of patronage known as NER, which enriched party loyalists and squandered state resources.
To enact these constitutional changes, a two-thirds majority of 133 out of the Hungarian parliament’s 199 seats was required. Although final results are pending, Tisza is projected to secure 138 seats.
Magyar had instructed his supporters to prepare for a change of regime, and with the victory confirmed, celebrations erupted, and champagne flowed. Cars honked their horns across Budapest, and women waved Hungarian flags through open sunroofs.
Many who supported Magyar are not traditional allies. For years, he had supported Orbán, and now he has been instrumental in his downfall.
“He’s someone you cannot be absolutely sure of,” a lawyer named Ágnes told the BBC, “but we’re at a point where we need to hope for something better, which he promises – and we truly hope his promises come true.”
Another target for Magyar is the pro-Orbán state media. The M1 TV channel has, until now, slavishly adhered to the party line, alongside formerly independent websites acquired over time by Fidesz allies.
Seemingly uncertain of its next move, M1 rebroadcast a speech Magyar had given just after voting concluded. He had been hopeful of victory at the time, but by then the speech was outdated – he had already won.
For some time, Hungary has felt like two parallel worlds. In one, Orbán convinced his supporters and TV viewers that they were heading for victory and four more years in power, supported by opinion polls from sympathetic pollsters who continued to forecast a Fidesz victory as late as Sunday evening.
In the other world was Magyar, attracting large crowds wherever he went, supported by respected pollsters reporting an increasing lead over his rival.
On Sunday night, these two worlds collided, and only one proved to be real.
Magyar moved slowly through the crowds before taking to the stage, flanked by his party colleagues.
“You performed a miracle today, Hungary made history today,” he told the audience, amidst chants of “Ria-Ria-Hungaria!”
He likened their electoral victory to the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the uprising against Soviet occupation in 1956.
There was a time when Orbán himself spoke out against Soviet occupation, but he has since become a close partner of Putin. His justification of cheap Russian oil and petrol has made him a highly unpopular leader in the EU, which has sought to reduce its reliance on Russian imports. Orbán also reneged on an EU agreement to provide Ukraine with a €90bn (£79bn; $105bn) loan.
“Russians go home,” Magyar supporters chanted, as the incoming Hungarian prime minister promised improved relations with the EU.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow wished to continue its relations with Budapest.
“The Hungarians have made their choice. We respect this choice. We expect to continue our highly pragmatic contacts with the new leadership of Hungary,” he told journalists. “Probably we should be patient and wait to see what happens.”
However, he was quoted by Kremlin pool reporter Alexander Yunashev as saying that despite engaging in “dialogue” with Orbán, Moscow still considered Hungary an unfriendly country due to its support for sanctions against Russia.
“We don’t send congratulations to unfriendly countries,” Peskov stated.
Hungary under Orbán has voted in favor of EU sanctions packages but frequently voiced opposition to them. Last month, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó admitted revealing details of EU sanctions talks to Russian diplomats.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk was among the first European leaders to welcome Magyar’s “glorious victory,” adding in Hungarian, “Ruszkik Haza” – “Russians go home.”
The Tisza leader pledged that his first trip abroad as prime minister would be to Warsaw, aiming to reinforce Hungary’s 1,000-year friendship with Poland.
He has also promised to travel to Brussels, where he intends to persuade the European Commission to unlock as much as €17bn in funds frozen due to failures to tackle corruption and maintain judicial independence.
Magyar carries significant momentum after a marathon campaign that involved up to seven speeches a day and energized large crowds nationwide.
His defeated rival sounded tired and jaded in his final campaign speech on Saturday night, as if he anticipated the outcome.
Orbán, now 62, has not resigned as party leader, and without him, the future of Fidesz is uncertain.
For now, he will continue to lead Hungary in a caretaker role while he and his party regroup.
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