Péter Magyar and the opposition Tisza party have secured a victory in Hungary, ending 16 years of rule by Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party. The election result marks the first change in Hungarian government since 2010.
Supporters gathered along the Danube to celebrate the results, with some comparing the political shift to the collapse of the Soviet Union. András Petöcz, a writer and poet, told CNN, “I was 30 when the communist regime ended. It is the same feeling, the same.”
In a victory speech before the Hungarian parliament, Magyar pledged to reclaim the nation. “Together, we replace the Orbán regime. Together, we free Hungary. We reclaim our country,” Magyar told his supporters.
The limits of nationalism
The defeat highlights the difficulties of using international support to bolster a nationalist platform. During the campaign, Orbán relied heavily on endorsements from influential figures in the United States and Russia.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Budapest last week to support the incumbent. Former President Donald Trump also endorsed Orbán on Truth Social, calling him a “true friend, fighter and WINNER.”
Bulgarian political scientist Ivan Krastev noted the irony of Orbán's reliance on foreign powers. “If he is going to lose, he is going to lose as a globalist,” Krastev told CNN, stating that Orbán's actions mirrored those of highly internationalist leaders.
Analysts suggest the campaign's focus on foreign threats, such as Ukraine and the EU, failed to distract from domestic issues. Krastev observed that the campaign's attempt to frame Ukraine as a threat to Hungarian sovereignty had become “comical.”
While the Tisza party won a decisive victory, the future of the country's political landscape remains uncertain. Many liberal and left-wing voters expressed reservations about Magyar, who is a former Fidesz insider and remains deeply conservative.
Péter Krekó, director of the Budapest-based think tank Political Capital, said liberal voters prioritized defeating Orbán over finding a perfect candidate. “Hungarian liberal voters did not allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good,” Krekó told CNN.
Magyar has already called on Orbán to act as an interim leader and avoid obstructing the new administration. The incoming government now faces the task of dismantling the complex political system built by Fidesz over the last decade and a half.