London – “Europe! Europe!” That was the chant echoing from the banks of the Danube after the election turmoil, which on Monday was celebrated across the continent as a crushing defeat for those who threatened its security.
Subscribe to read this story ad-free
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
Presidents, prime ministers and EU officials welcomed the end of Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule in Hungary as a return to unity and shared values in the EU, the 27-nation bloc he had criticized and tried to undermine.
Orban, a close ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump, is seen as a pioneer of the global hard right. He conceded defeat Sunday night, marking a sweeping victory for challenger Peter Magyar and the center-right Tisza party, which successfully united the country’s opposition behind a pledge to restore ties with Europe.
Forcustomers
Why does Hungary’s election matter beyond its borders?
01:48
With almost all votes counted, Tisza was expected to win 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament.
At a press conference on Monday, Magyar offered practical support for the United Nations and the EU, marking a major change from Hungary’s position toward Brussels.
“We’re not going there just to fight, so we can write on billboards that Brussels is bad and needs to stop,” he told supporters, taking a direct dig at Orbán’s negative campaign.
Magyar, who said it was clear that Ukraine was “suffering” in the war, also accused the outgoing government of destroying documents related to sanctions against Russia, citing an “insider” in the Foreign Ministry.
Several leaders called to congratulate Magyar even before he took the stage to address a large crowd in the capital Budapest to announce the victory.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on Twitter: “Hungary, Poland, Europe, back together! Great victory, dear friends!” He added “Ruszik Háza” in Hungarian, meaning “Russians go home”, a reference to Orbán’s support for Putin and his repeated vetoes on European support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
In a video clip posted by Tusk, the clearly delighted Polish leader is seen speaking to Magyar on the phone and saying, “I think I’m happier than you.”
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke for many on the continent when he posted: “Today Europe won and European values won.”
The European Democratic Party, a pan-European centrist group that supports greater integration across the continent, called Magyar’s victory “a cry that shocks the conscience of all of us” and posted a clip The crowd chanted “Europe! Europe!” At his victory rally in Budapest.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer – no longer an EU member but a close supporter of Ukraine – said: “This is a historic moment not just for Hungary, but for European democracy.”
The Kremlin, for its part, said on Monday it hoped to continue its “pragmatic” relations with Hungary. “Hungarians have made their choice. We respect that choice,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
But when later asked whether the Kremlin would congratulate the Magyars, Peskov said, “We do not congratulate unfriendly countries. And Hungary is an unfriendly country.”
Analysts warn that those celebrating Orbán’s fall should be careful, that the massive influence he and his supporters have built in the country’s institutions will not be easily removed.
“The structure of the last 16 years has become so entrenched and anxious to occupy all the commanding heights of the Hungarian state that it will take a long time for anyone to unravel it,” said Jonathan Eyal, associate director of the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank.
Orban, 62, is a key European ally of Trump whose populism and culture war posture provided a model for the MAGA movement.
In his two decades at the helm of the Fidesz party, he has staked his reputation as a committed anti-immigration Christian nationalist who spoke of defending the West against radical Islam and globalist forces.
Hungary’s now-former leader has been widely criticized for dismantling or weakening many democratic institutions, including the constitution, law courts and media, and for filling influential committees with loyalists.
Tisza is expected to win at least a two-thirds majority in the Hungarian Parliament in the election, giving her a supermajority, which would mean she could amend the Hungarian Constitution. “We will restore the system of checks and balances,” Magyar told celebrating supporters on Sunday.
He has vowed to unlock billions of dollars of funding from the European Union that had been held up due to repeated violations and concerns about corruption and the democratic process.
But there are several official institutions filled with Orbán loyalists, Eyal pointed out, who have seized power to make policy from the Hungarian parliament, as well as a powerful constitutional court filled with his appointees.
“So removing all these nets is not something that can happen after a party on the Danube River,” warned Eyal.
Magyar, a relatively young leader at 45, is a former member of Orbán’s Fidesz party and a former Foreign Ministry official – he defected to join Tisza in 2024.
Magyar is a conservative who supports the previous administration’s tough stance on immigration and has also signaled he may go even further by ending the country’s guest worker scheme for non-EU citizens.
“Magyar is not actually a dissident who has emerged as the new leader out of thin air,” Eyal said. “So it’s a legitimate question how different this is from someone who has clearly shared some of the views of the Orbán government during his political career.”
And a complete severance of relations with Moscow is unlikely. At his press conference on Monday, Magyar said he hoped the war in Ukraine would end soon so that international sanctions on Russia could be lifted – Hungary is a major importer of Russian oil. Hungary will try to diversify, he said, but added that the country “cannot change geography.”
Eyal said, no matter what happens, this result is a blow to the regime in Moscow.
“When Hungarian voters were asked, they said we don’t want to be part of Russia, we want to be part of Europe,” he said. “And so this is a huge lesson for the far right.”
