Orbán remains highly valued by US President Donald Trump (& Putin), who has called on Hungarians to "get out and vote" for his "true friend, fighter, and WINNER".
Election victor Péter Magyar, a former Orbán loyalist who campaigned against corruption and on everyday issues like health care and public transport, has pledged to rebuild Hungary's relationships with the European Union and NATO — ties that frayed under Orbán. European leaders quickly congratulated Magyar.
The economy is struggling, and he (Orbán) has been buffeted by a series of scandals, including revelations that Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó regularly spoke to his Russian counterpart before and after European Union summits, which he has admitted. Hungary is not just in the EU, it is in Nato too, but Orbán has vetoed €90bn (£78bn) in aid to Ukraine, angering his European partners.
Péter Magyar’svictory was expected to transform political dynamics within the EU, where Orbán had upended the bloc by frequently vetoing key decisions, prompting concerns he sought to break it up from the inside.
It will also reverberate among far-right movements around the world, which have viewed Orbán as a beacon for how nationalist populism can be used to wage culture wars and leverage state power to undermine opponents.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's defeat in the Hungarian General Election has now sparked an online ridicule campaign directed at US Vice President JD Vance. , US Buzz, Times Now
www.timesnownews.com
It's not yet clear whether Magyar’s Tisza party will have the two-thirds majority in parliament, which would give it the numbers needed for major changes in legislation. With 93% of the vote counted, it had more than 53% support to 37% for Orbán’s governing Fidesz party and looked set to win 94 of Hungary's 106 voting districts.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime
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It was a stunning blow for Orbán — a close ally of both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — who conceded defeat after what he called a
″painful″ election result. “I congratulated the victorious party,″ Orban told followers. “We are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition.″
Péter Magyar has pledged to rebuild Hungary's relationships with the European Union and NATO.
fortune.com
Turnout in the election was nearly 80%, according to the National Election Office, a record number in any election in Hungary’s post-Communist history in a ‘Choice between East or West’.
Orbán, the EU’s longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, traveled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the
Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right.
The EU will be waiting to see how Magyar changes Hungary's approach to Ukraine. Orbán repeatedly frustrated EU efforts to support the neighboring country in its war against Russia’s full-scale invasion, while cultivating close ties to Putin and refusing to end Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy imports.
US vice-president says on visit to Budapest ‘we had to show’ support for Viktor Orbán, as opposition leads polls
www.theguardian.com
Recent revelations have shown a top member of Orbán's government frequently shared the contents of EU discussions with Moscow, raising accusations that Hungary was acting on Russia’s behalf within the bloc.
Members of Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement are among those who see Orbán's government and his Fidesz political party as
shining examples of conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is
reviled by advocates of liberal democracy and the rule of law.
Russian secret services have plotted to interfere and tip the election in Orbán's favor, according to numerous media reports including by The Washington Post. The prime minister, however, has
accused neighboring Ukraine, as well as Hungary's allies in the EU, of seeking to interfere in the vote to install a “pro-Ukraine” government.
US vice president in Hungary calls Ukrainian leader's 'threatening' remarks 'completely scandalous'.
www.aljazeera.com
