Watershed Elections in Hungary? – What’s at Stake?

For the past 16 years, Hungary has increasingly come to be seen as the epitome of swift and steady democratic decline ending in a clear path toward autocratization. However, the ruling Fidesz party anticipates the 2026 general elections with a challenger that looks more credible and more popular than the ones it defeated during the past four elections, which opens the possibility for democratic recovery. Still, questions abound regarding the peaceful transition of power, the legal possibilities for rebuilding the rule of law and restoring media freedom, the reintegration of the country into the EU, as well as the malleability of popular attitudes that made the 16-year rule of Fidesz possible in the first place.