All posts tagged: Orbáns

Orbán’s 16-year rule over Hungary ends in crushing election defeat – POLITICO

Orbán’s 16-year rule over Hungary ends in crushing election defeat – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Orbán conceded, with tears in his eyes, saying: “However it turned out, we will serve our country and the Hungarian nation from the opposition.” If the current margin of victory holds, Magyar will secure a supermajority in parliament that will allow him to unravel key features of Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” — demolishing the prime minister’s tight control over the judiciary, state companies and the media. Orbán’s departure will come as a huge relief to the EU, whose systemic weaknesses he has exposed and exploited for years, most recently by helping Putin block €90 billion of European support to Ukraine. A gleeful European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced: “Europe’s heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight.” A heavy loss for the Hungarian premier will also deliver a painful blow to Trump’s MAGA movement, which has viewed Hungary’s prime minister as a talismanic trailblazer for its own brand of anti-immigrant, Christian-oriented nationalism.   Brussels officials have long accused Orbán of undermining key pillars of Hungarian democracy — from the judiciary to the media — and …

In Hungary, upcoming elections could bring an end to Orban’s 16-year rule : NPR

In Hungary, upcoming elections could bring an end to Orban’s 16-year rule : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

In Hungary, voters head to the polls Sunday. At stake: the future for populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Europe’s longest-serving leader – and an ally of Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. ROB SCHMITZ, HOST: Here in Hungary, voters head to the polls tomorrow. At stake – the future for populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Europe’s longest serving leader and ally of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump. Here’s Orbán at a rally alongside Vice President JD Vance this week. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PRESIDENT VIKTOR ORBÁN: (Through interpreter) Freedom-loving people cannot be converted to liberalist ideologies. The same thing will happen always. We will still be here, and they are nowhere, and the Hungarian-American friendship is shining again in its old glory. SCHMITZ: Orbán is the architect of a style of governance known as illiberal democracy, one where key democratic institutions like the judiciary, the free press and civil society have been methodically weakened but where citizens still retain the right to vote. It’s a model that’s been a point of fascination …

How Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s hometown became a symbol of excesses : NPR

How Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s hometown became a symbol of excesses : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Pancho Arena, soccer stadium in Felcsút, Hungary. Rob Schmitz/NPR hide caption toggle caption Rob Schmitz/NPR To the outsider, the Pancho Arena, a massive soccer stadium built to seat 4,000 fans, seems out of place in the tiny Hungarian village of Felcsút. The village, nearly an hour drive from Budapest, Hungary’s capital, has a population that would only fill half the stadium. But the open-air architectural gem, made of curved wooden beams that jut dramatically upwards and resemble a cathedral, wasn’t built in just any village. Felcsút is the hometown of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and his family’s weekend home sits across the street from the stadium, which carries the nickname of Ferenc Puskás, Hungary’s most famous soccer player from the 1950s. As Hungarians head into a national election on Sunday, Orbán is facing a double-digit deficit in the polls, despite a last-minute rally in Budapest on Tuesday with U.S. Vice President JD Vance. The vote might bring an end to Orbán’s 16-year hold on power and could reshape the country’s role in Europe. The leader …

Orbán’s government accuses Facebook of undermining his reelection campaign – POLITICO

Orbán’s government accuses Facebook of undermining his reelection campaign – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Facebook is an important platform in Hungarian politics, and Magyar has regularly used it to appeal to voters and react to events, clocking millions of views with his self-authored posts. While Orbán has 1.6 million followers to Magyar’s 930,000, the latter has received more user engagement in terms of comments and likes: In March, Magyar made 287 posts, generating 14,077,000 interactions — nearly double the 7,868,000 interactions Orbán received from his 342 posts, according to a Telex tally published on April 3. “He speaks the language of the algorithm … and he can keep up with the speed of the news cycle without losing strategic clarity,” said Márton Hajdu, EU affairs chief for Magyar’s Tisza party and one of its parliamentary candidates. Poll of Polls — Hungary national election voting intention For more polling data from across Europe visit POLITICO Poll of Polls. But according to Kovács, Magyar’s success on the social network is due to two different user profiling systems used by Meta, which are putting Orbán at a disadvantage. “The prime minister is …

Orbán’s rival Magyar slams JD Vance’s Hungary visit as election meddling – POLITICO

Orbán’s rival Magyar slams JD Vance’s Hungary visit as election meddling – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

For Orbán — who has ruled Hungary for 16 years and built a system he calls “illiberal democracy” — the visit is a chance to project international support at a critical moment in the campaign. POLITICO’s Poll of Polls shows Fidesz trailing Magyar’s opposition Tisza party. Vance is not the first senior U.S. figure to deploy to Budapest ahead of the election. His trip follows a February visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who declared a “golden age” in U.S.-Hungarian relations. The campaign trail has seen controversy and accusations of foreign interference that extend beyond the U.S. Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó acknowledged talking with Russian officials as EU ministers weighed new sanctions, with reports suggesting Budapest sought to weaken measures targeting Russian elites and oil shipments. Meanwhile, a documentary by independent journalists, The Price of a Vote, alleged widespread vote-buying and pressure on voters in rural areas — claims the government has dismissed as politically motivated. Hungary has been in this position before. In 2022, a united opposition was also expected to challenge …

Viktor Orbán’s last throw of the MAGA dice – POLITICO

Viktor Orbán’s last throw of the MAGA dice – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

For the Hungarian prime minister it’s a singular opportunity to portray himself as the Trump administration’s pre-eminent European ally. Trump has previously praised him as “one of the strongest” world leaders, and Orbán anticipated MAGA’s obsessions over a decade ago with his assertive nationalism, his contempt for the EU, and his success in asserting influence over Hungary’s media and public institutions. For the White House, the visit is a sign of appreciation that Orbán stuck with Trump through the tougher times — especially his four years out of power and his 2024 election campaign — when other world leaders shunned him. Donald Trump and JD Vance meet with Viktor Orbán during a bilateral lunch in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on November 7, 2025. | Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images “Orbán has been with the president for a very long time. He was with him through the trials and tribulations, through the entire campaign. There wasn’t any world leader who wanted to meet with Trump or bonded, consistently made trips to Mar-a-Lago, made …

Viktor Orban’s problems undercut Trump’s new world order

Viktor Orban’s problems undercut Trump’s new world order

Published by Sam Flores

Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is a dark, repressive place. But Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation — the conservative think-tank that has given America, among other gifts, Project 2025 — has called it not just the “model for modern statecraft, but the model. Americans, Brits, Spaniards, Australians — everyone — can and should learn from it.” Those words may sound odd coming from a right-wing American activist, the type who would have previously heaped contempt on anyone who suggested that a country other than the United States is the model the world should follow. But these are different times, and America’s right-wing intelligentsia has had a crush on Orbán for some time now. The question is whether the Hungarian people are as enamored as they are. For the first time in 16 years, Orbán is facing a tough reelection battle.  Hungarians will go to the polls on April 12, and if the elections are fair and uncorrupted, it appears Orbán and his Hungarian Civil Union Party, known as Fidesz, will lose. Current polling averages …

Orbán’s spies were hunting me, says Hungarian journalist accused of espionage – POLITICO

Orbán’s spies were hunting me, says Hungarian journalist accused of espionage – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“That’s when they grabbed all the material they had on me, edited it, spun it around and published it as a sort of kompromat,” Panyi said, referring to a Russian term for compromising material. Szijjártó has acknowledged speaking with Russian counterparts before and after EU meetings, following reporting by The Washington Post that he gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reports on what was discussed, and the possible solutions proposed, during EU meetings. On Thursday, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás announced that the government had filed a criminal complaint against Panyi, accusing him of espionage and collusion with Ukrainian intelligence services. The complaint alleges he shared sensitive information about Szijjártó but does not disclose specific details or evidence. Prosecutors now have to decide whether to launch an investigation or not. The Hungarian Parliament and the Dunabe river in July 2021. | Gergely Besenyei/AFP via Getty Images Orbán and Szijjártó have maintained close relations with the Kremlin — including making multiple trips to meet top-level officials in Moscow — even after the EU …

Orbán’s Top Opponent Says Hungary’s Alleged Russian Backchannel ‘Treason’ to Be Investigated

Orbán’s Top Opponent Says Hungary’s Alleged Russian Backchannel ‘Treason’ to Be Investigated

Published by Sam Flores

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The front-runner in Hungary’s parliamentary election said on Monday that an alleged backchannel between Budapest and Moscow should be investigated as “treason” after the Washington Post reported that Hungary’s government has for years provided Russia with detailed information from EU Council meetings. Péter Magyar, the main political opponent of Hungary’s long-serving leader Viktor Orbán, said in a social media post that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjárto “appears to be colluding with Russia, thereby betraying Hungarian and European interests.” “If confirmed, this would amount to treason, which carries a potential life sentence. A future TISZA government will immediately investigate the matter,” Magyar wrote. Tisza is Hungary’s main opposition party that is currently ahead in the polls three weeks before parliamentary elections. Their victory would unseat Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party, which took power in 2010. The Post, citing several current and former European security officials, found that Orbán’s government has long offered Moscow access to sensitive discussions within the European Union. During breaks at EU meetings like last Thursday’s summit of the bloc’s …

Meloni told leaders she understands Orbán’s Ukraine position, diplomats say – POLITICO

Meloni told leaders she understands Orbán’s Ukraine position, diplomats say – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

While Meloni emphasized in the meeting that she personally still supported the loan being channeled to Ukraine immediately, she said she understood the position of Orbán, who faces an election next month, according to the five diplomats, representing four different European countries. One of the five diplomats quoted Meloni as saying that Orbán’s stance was “normal” because “things change” and that “if I were in the same situation I would understand it.” The Italian government denied that. “The sentence attributed to the prime minister is totally baseless” an official from Meloni’s office in Rome said. All diplomats quoted in this article were granted anonymity to allow them to speak freely about the discussions, which were not held in public. None of them were in the room because it was almost exclusively only leaders present. Those leaders briefed diplomats. Oil link Hungary and Slovakia are blocking the release of the funds, which needs all EU governments to approve. Budapest has linked its consent to demands Ukraine repair the Druzhba pipeline, which brings Russian oil to Hungary …