Viktor Orbán has been re-elected leader of Hungary's Fidesz party at the organisation's 32nd congress in Budapest, just weeks after suffering the most significant defeat of his political career. Of 737 delegates present, 729 voted to return Orbán to the leadership — a near-unanimous result that came without any opposing candidate. He will serve a one-year term, a time-limited mandate widely seen as a concession to internal critics who had begun questioning his future after the party's April collapse.

Fidesz, the right-wing nationalist party that governed Hungary for 16 years under Orbán, was routed in the April 12 parliamentary election by Péter Magyar's Tisza party, a centre-right, pro-Western movement that secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority — the kind of supermajority that allows constitutional changes. Orbán, 62, acknowledged the scale of the loss from the congress podium, accepting personal responsibility and insisting that errors of strategy rested on his shoulders alone. In a characteristic show of defiance, he also declared: "I do not give up, I never, never, never, never, never give up."

Orbán's long tenure had made him one of Europe's most influential and controversial leaders. He cultivated close ties with both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, championing what he called an "illiberal" model of democracy that inspired right-wing movements across Europe and the United States. Critics at home and in Brussels argued he systematically hollowed out Hungary's judiciary, independent media, universities and public institutions, prompting the European Union to freeze billions of euros in funds earmarked for the country.

Since taking office in May, Prime Minister Magyar has moved quickly to reverse course. His government dropped Hungary's long-standing veto on Ukraine's EU membership bid, allowing accession talks to resume, and is seeking constitutional amendments to remove officials appointed under Orbán — including President Tamás Sulyok, who has so far refused to resign. In response, the EU announced it would unlock approximately 16.4 billion euros of the roughly 18 billion euros it had frozen over concerns about democratic backsliding, corruption, and LGBTQ rights.

For Fidesz, the road back looks steep. A May poll by the Publicus Institute put Tisza's support at 55 percent — up from its 53 percent election result — while Fidesz had fallen to 17 percent from 39 percent on election day. Orbán himself acknowledged the party must reinvent itself as an effective opposition force before it can credibly seek to govern again. Independent Hungarian media have been sceptical, arguing that his re-election signals a refusal to genuinely examine the causes of defeat, while conservative outlets framed the congress as the beginning of a necessary generational renewal.