Hungary has chosen a new start, giving a boost to democracy across Europe. A broad alliance of politics and civil society demonstrates just how powerful solidarity and the courage to embrace change can be. This presents both opportunities and challenges for European cooperation.
History was made in Hungary on 12 April 2026. For the country and for Europe. Behind the opposition’s overwhelming electoral success and the break with the Orbán regime lies a widespread sense of hope in society. The electorate’s yearning for a democracy based on freedom and the rule of law proved stronger than the inhuman and cynical power politics of Viktor Orbán, who began transforming the country into an autocratic and highly corrupt state 16 years ago. His authoritarian style of government was directed against liberal democracy, its institutions, critical civil society and independent media.
Orbán also launched a particularly fierce attack on social cohesion. Following a logic of cultural war pushed to the extreme, society was plunged into a permanent state of conflict through ever-new bogeymen and disinformation campaigns. Among the cornerstones of Orbánism were the stoking of fear and a destructive energy that permeated all areas of life. The relief and sense of liberation following this political breakthrough could be seen and felt on election night in the exuberant festive atmosphere, in the chants of ‘Europe’ and in the faces of the people beaming with joy.
Pro-European forces must learn the right lessons from the rise and fall of the Orbán system
The Orbán regime has served as a blueprint for antiliberal governments across Europe. Its Fidesz party has played a leading role in international far-right networks for years. Following the 2024 European elections, Viktor Orbán founded the ‘Patriots for Europe’ group, which has since become the third-largest faction; there are close links to the MAGA camp, the AfD and many other far-right parties. Orbán’s defeat calls into question these parties’ confidence in victory, as well as their policies and strategies.
Democratic and pro-European forces must draw the right lessons from the rise and fall of the Orbán system. This includes the realisation that the European Union should have deployed instruments of EU law much earlier to protect the rights and interests of the people of Hungary. However, it is also true that the combination of the many factors decisive for electoral success cannot simply be transferred to other national contexts. Péter Magyar was credible to many voters not in spite of, but because he had left the Fidesz structures in 2024 and had since sought dialogue with all citizens. In doing so, he addressed the country’s pressing problems. Widespread corruption, crumbling infrastructure, a disastrous healthcare system and rising living costs were decisive issues in the election.
With his increasingly far-fetched conspiracy theories, Orbán appeared more and more detached from reality, angry and fighting a losing battle with each passing day. Thanks to his deep insights into the Orbán empire, Magyar understood how the regime’s propaganda worked. Through forward-thinking and, on many issues, restrained communication, he managed to offer Orbán virtually no opening for attack. This also explains his success in dealing with the perfidious Fidesz methods with which Orbán had confidently outmanoeuvred the opposition in the last four consecutive election campaigns.
The path to re-democratisation will not be an easy one
Following this historic election, the TISZA Party now holds a two-thirds majority needed for amending the constitution, giving it the opportunity to restore democracy in Hungary. This path towards re-democratisation will be anything but easy. One of the government’s key priorities, alongside the revival of the rule of law and democratic structures, will be the release of frozen EU funds to overcome the ongoing economic crisis.
Despite all the European Union’s mistakes and failures in dealing with the Orbán regime, one thing remains clear: EU membership made a decisive difference in the restoration of democracy. Its instruments for upholding the principles of the rule of law can certainly have an impact, as was previously the case in Poland. The conditionality mechanism, which came into force in 2021, is particularly worth mentioning here. This is because the freezing of billions of euros in EU funding has, since 2022, removed an important financial basis for Orbán’s corrupt machinations to secure his power.
The end of Hungary’s obstructionist policy
On election night, Hungary’s future Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, announced an end to Hungary’s policy of obstruction at EU level. His aim, he said, was to restore Hungary to its role as a constructive, committed and reliable partner within the EU and NATO. This is excellent news, and not just for Ukraine.
With Orbán’s election defeat, Putin, Xi and Trump have lost one of their most important allies. This, too, is good news, as through their close ties with Orbán they have hitherto pursued the aim of dividing and weakening the EU. However, this has given rise to close interdependencies and path dependencies in the areas of energy and industrial policy, which will not simply disappear with the Fidesz government and will pose challenges for the future cabinet. Moreover, the EU remains an easy target for autocrats in many other places, as demonstrated, for example, by the closeness of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to the Kremlin. Just a few days ago, he declared the EU’s policy towards Russia a failure and plans to be a guest of Putin in Moscow again this year on ‘Victory Day’ on 9 May.
The challenges now facing Hungary are just as historic as the election result. It must be clear to everyone that there will be no quick or perfect solutions to the many issues and tasks at hand. The future government, whose electorate is extremely diverse, needs robust partnerships based on pro-European solidarity and must not be burdened with unrealistic expectations.
The election victory is due to the ability of democratic forces to form alliances in an authoritatively governed EU Member State
In Brussels, no hasty party-political conclusions should be drawn from the electoral success of the TISZA Party, which has been a member of the European People’s Party group in the European Parliament since 2024. Behind this success stand millions of pro-European democrats, civil society organisations and investigative journalists across the country. Many of them were left to their own devices by the EPP Group in their tireless efforts and courageous stance until 2021, because Fidesz was a member of that group until that point. This fact calls for an honest reflection on the role that the EU institutions have played since 2010 in the context of the autocratisation of Hungary. The leaders of the EU and its Member States should sincerely turn their attention to the political and social actors in the country who have made the end of the Orbán regime possible and must now bring it to a conclusion together.
It would be wrong to interpret the election result solely as the success of a conservative candidate over a far-right party. This historic success is the result of an alliance across party lines, supported by Hungarian civil society, which demanded a great deal from all democrats in an EU Member State that has been ruled authoritatively for almost two decades. After all, everything was at stake.
This piece was first published in German on boell.de.
