Viktor Orban

News

Hungary Replaced Orbán – But Can It Replace His Foreign Policy Legacy?

Orbán’s defeat in last Sunday’s election rings in a new era for Hungary, but also for its partners to the East and West. In her op-ed, Gabriela Greilinger argues that while Péter Magyar’s calls for more pragmatism and constructive relations with Western partners suggest, in part, a decoupling from the country’s former “Eastern Opening”, some challenges will remain.

16.04.2026

News

All At Once – Coping with Positive Shock in Hungary

Bucking wider trends once again, Hungarian voters ousted a seemingly entrenched quasi-party state on Sunday. The resounding defeat of the first proudly illiberal regime within the enlarged West forces us to revise entrenched wisdoms about the System of National Cooperation and its leader. The unhoped-for supermajority for Tisza also shows the country’s political culture and historical trajectory in a new light. Ferenc Laczó reflects on the meaning of the Hungarian elections.

14.04.2026

News

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.

9.04.2026

News

Fidesz on the Defensive: Sixteen Years of Dominance Under Threat

Hungary's April 2026 parliamentary election presents the first serious challenge to Viktor Orbán's sixteen-year rule. Péter Magyar's Tisza party, built on technocratic populism and a clean break from the discredited old opposition, leads Fidesz by roughly ten points among committed voters. This analysis examines the roots of Fidesz's vulnerability, the dynamics of a campaign dominated by economic grievances and a series of scandals, and the scenarios that could yet determine the outcome.

4.02.2026

News

Reimagining Hungary’s Foreign Policy: Challenges and Opportunities for a Future Democratic Government

The April 2026 elections can mark the end of Hungary’s 16-year experiment with illiberalism and open a new chapter in its relations with Europe and the wider world. After more than a decade of multivectoral diplomacy—balancing uneasily between Brussels, Washington, Moscow, and Beijing—a new government might need to redefine the country’s place within the Euro-Atlantic community while confronting the legacies of dependency and mistrust left behind. The following analysis outlines the strategic framework for such a reorientation, mapping the challenges, trade-offs, and opportunities facing a future democratic Hungary.

25.11.2025

The Recipe Trump Will Hopefully Not Read Attentively – Measuring the US’ Political Prospects by the ‘Gold Standard’ of De-Democratization

Given all the grave concerns regarding the future of democratic norms and institutions in the US, Hungary’s transformation under Viktor Orbán’s rule offers the kind of warning that observers would ignore at their own peril. Considering the key ingredients on Orbán’s recipe of de-democratization can also help us develop a sense of proportions and nuance about what is likely to unfold under Donald Trump’s upcoming second term.

13.11.2024

Two Paths to Power – What Unites Giorgia Meloni and Viktor Orbán? What Separates Them?

Meloni and Orbán are often treated as closely comparable political actors. However, their trajectories are widely divergent, and this is reflected in their respective understanding of both domestic political action and international alliances.

2.08.2024

News

The Hungarian Government Became Hostage of Its Own Propaganda

In this conversation with RevDem Editor Robert Nemeth, Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Panyi talks about the Hungarian government’s response to the war in Ukraine, why it is not willing to counter Russian infiltration in Hungary, the reasons behind the anti-US sentiment of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his inner circle, and anti-Western propaganda in Hungary. He also discusses how being targeted by the Pegasus spyware impacted him.

16.12.2022

Can they ever win? The past and future prospects for an opposition victory in Hungary’s competitive authoritarian regime

By analyzing the recent parliamentary elections, the authors attempt to answer a key question for Hungary and Europe: is Viktor Orban and his ruling party defeatable?

30.04.2022