Hungary for change: On Victor Orban’s ouster
T he voter’s verdict in Hungary, that ousted Victor Orban, Hungary’s Christian-nationalist, populist and hard-right Prime Minister with a record 20 years in power (1998-2002 and 2010-2026) and four previous consecutive electoral wins, is unambiguous. According to the latest results, opposition leader Peter Magyar’s Tisza party has won about 138 seats, to Mr. Orban’s Fidesz party’s 55. The massive two-thirds majority in the Hungarian parliament is enough to help Mr. Magyar overturn many of the Orban-era shifts on education and health, judicial independence, and the controversial NER (Nemzeti Együttműködés Rendszere) or National Cooperation System that the opposition said had led to an economic downturn, widespread corruption and crony capitalism, as well as an anti-European Union stance. Mr. Magyar, who was a Fidesz party leader until just two years ago when he quit the ruling party in protest of its policies and set up his own political movement, is unlikely to reverse Mr. Orban’s anti-immigrant policies, however. Ahead of the polls, Victor Orban was endorsed by three powerful leaders, all seen as aggressors in recent conflicts — U.S. President Donald Trump, who even sent Vice-President J.D. Vance to address a public rally with Mr. Orban in Budapest last week; Russian President Vladimir Putin; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Mr. Orban supported unequivocally. Hungary actually quit the International Criminal Court after it issued a warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister for war crimes. It remains to be seen whether post-Orban Hungary turns its course on the wars in Iran, Ukraine or Gaza.
Most significantly for the world, that saw the rise of many populist leaders through elections in the 2010s, Hungary’s election verdict denotes that voters worldwide may be tiring of the hard-right, anti-pluralistic, anti-immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric they favoured. Similar outcomes have been seen in elections in Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, the U.K. and Poland. Such trends also provide a check to the authoritarian single-party rule that a whole range of leaders have tried to implement using illiberal policies, politically motivated cases against the opposition, the denigration of democratic institutions and a clampdown on free speech. Mr. Magyar has his work cut out if he aims to reverse these policies in Hungary. The real test of a democratic leader is not just winning elections, but in pursuing inclusive policies, representational of the entire population and providing accountability for their actions, long after forming the government.
- 1The ouster of Victor Orban's Fidesz party in Hungary highlights a global trend against illiberal democracies, where electoral processes exist but civil liberties are undermined. Orban's rule was marked by a clampdown on judicial independence and free speech through systems like the NER. The decisive victory for Peter Magyar's Tisza party underscores the electorate's power to reject authoritarian single-party rule and restore democratic checks and balances.
- 2Hungary's election signals a potential shift in its foreign policy, moving away from Victor Orban's alignment with leaders like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu. A key diplomatic issue is Hungary's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) following a warrant against Netanyahu. The new government under Peter Magyar will face scrutiny over its stance on global conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, impacting EU cohesion.
- 3The Hungarian election outcome underscores the constitutional implications of prolonged single-party rule, which under Victor Orban led to the erosion of judicial independence and a clampdown on free speech. Peter Magyar's two-thirds majority now enables constitutional reforms. This contrasts with India's robust protections for free speech under Article 19(1)(a), where restrictions are constitutionally defined and subject to judicial review, unlike politically motivated suppressions.
- 4The electoral defeat of Victor Orban is linked to the socio-economic impact of his National Cooperation System (NER), which critics claim led to widespread corruption, crony capitalism, and an economic downturn. While the new government under Peter Magyar is expected to address these economic grievances, it is unlikely to reverse Orban's controversial anti-immigrant social policies, highlighting the persistent challenge of xenophobia in European politics.