Peter Magyar's centre-right Tisza party has scored a historic victory in Hungary's parliamentary election, defeating Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz in a result that would end more than 16 years of near-uninterrupted rule by the man who became Europe's most prominent illiberal leader. With roughly a third of votes counted, Tisza held approximately 51 percent support against Fidesz's 40 percent — the party's worst performance in nearly three decades — and was leading in 95 of Hungary's 106 constituencies. Voter turnout reached close to 78 percent, the highest since Hungary's transition from communism in 1989, with particularly strong participation in cities, long considered opposition strongholds.
Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer with little political experience beyond roughly two years as a Member of the European Parliament, only entered Hungarian public life at the start of 2024, breaking with Fidesz — a party he had long been connected to — in the wake of a child abuse cover-up scandal. He quickly established himself as a formidable challenger, stunning observers when Tisza won nearly 30 percent of the vote in the June 2024 European elections. His campaign strategy was deliberately disciplined: rather than engaging in ideological battles, he focused on everyday concerns such as Hungary's persistently high inflation — the worst in the European Union — stagnant wages, and widespread government corruption. Crucially, he campaigned extensively in Fidesz strongholds that previous opposition candidates had largely ignored, and succeeded in uniting a fractured opposition behind a single banner.
The election is widely seen as a referendum on Orbán's governance, which critics had long accused of hollowing out democratic institutions, bending electoral rules to favour large unified parties, and exploiting state resources and media dominance during campaigns. Several smaller left-wing and liberal parties chose not to field candidates at all, urging their supporters to back Tisza tactically. The result is an earthquake for Hungarian politics.
The geopolitical implications are considerable. Magyar has pledged to end Hungary's obstructionist role within the European Union, where Orbán had repeatedly blocked aid packages and policy decisions, and to abandon the balancing act between Western allies and Moscow. A new government would likely prioritise unlocking approximately €18 billion in EU funds currently frozen over rule-of-law concerns. Tisza is a member of the European People's Party — the same political family as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — giving Magyar significant allies in Brussels. His victory will also be felt in Kyiv: unlike Orbán, who maintained close ties with Moscow, Magyar visited Ukraine in 2024 to deliver humanitarian aid and has signalled a more supportive stance.
The result is also a symbolic blow to the international network of nationalist and populist leaders who had celebrated Orbán as a model. US Vice President JD Vance visited Budapest in the days before the vote to express support, and figures ranging from Marine Le Pen to Argentina's Javier Milei had backed Orbán's campaign. Whether Magyar secures the two-thirds parliamentary supermajority needed to reverse many of Fidesz's constitutional changes remains uncertain, but the era of unchallenged Orbán dominance appears to be over.