Incoming PM Péter Magyar accuses Fidesz-linked figures of trying to shield their wealth from accountability

Along the banks of the Danube, news that the Viktor Orbán era had come to an end set off an hours-long party. The joy echoed across Hungary as people traded hugs and high-fives. For some, however, the landslide loss set off a frantic scramble.

Private jets allegedly laden with the spoils of those whose wealth swelled during Orbán’s 16 years in power have steadily been taking off from Vienna, while other individuals are racing to invest their assets abroad, sources have told the Guardian. Meanwhile, high-level figures close to Orbán have been looking into US visa options, hoping to find work at Maga-linked institutions.

Nach seiner Wahlniederlage kündigt der langjährige Regierungschef an, sein Abgeordnetenmandat niederzulegen. Er werde „derzeit“ nicht im Parlament gebraucht, erklärt er.

European Union formal procedures expected to conclude on Thursday as Druzhba pipeline reopens

During his press conference, Fico also doubles down on his criticism of the incoming Hungarian government led by Péter Magyar, in a further sign that the relations between Bratislava and Budapest could change dramatically in the next few months.

Fico has been close friends with Orbán, often teaming up with him on energy issues, but it doesn’t look like this Slovak-Hungarian partnership will continue under the new management in Budapest.

Am Ende von 16 Jahren Orbán weiß man: Geldentzug funktioniert als Druckmittel. Es ist jedoch nicht sicher, dass die EU es auch in Zukunft effektiv nutzt. Denn manche Regierungen könnten versuchen, einander zu schonen.

ECJ says law passed in 2021 is discriminatory and ‘contrary to the identity of the union’, in early test for new PM

The EU’s highest court has found Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ law to be discriminatory, stigmatising and in breach of basic democratic values, setting up an early test for the incoming government when it takes power next month.

In a wide-ranging judgment, the European court of justice said the 2021 law that bans content about LGBTQ+ people from schools and primetime TV was at odds with a society based on pluralism and fundamental rights, such as prohibition of discrimination and freedom of expression.

Der ungarische Wahlsieger Péter Magyar sendet auch in die Länder des westlichen Balkans selbstbewusste Signale. Vor allem ein prominenter Schützling von Viktor Orbán muss sich Sorgen machen.

He is no progressive but unlike the old opposition, the Tisza leader listened to Orbán’s rural base

The international audience observing the Hungarian election result is likely to settle on a view that feels familiar. That this election was about east v west or that it was a “youthquake”, a win secured by the unprecedented participation of young voters. These narratives have some truth to them, of course, but, especially for those interested in fighting back against regimes such as Viktor Orbán’s, it’s worth taking a closer look at this campaign. Understanding Péter Magyar’s success will require progressives to rethink their strategies in similar political scenarios.

Orbán’s defeat was against all odds. The Hungarian electoral system was designed by his government after 2010 with only one thing in mind: the interests of his party, Fidesz. His cronies control vast sections of Hungarian society and economy, including most offline media. Orbán had been effective in perpetuating the myth that he could not be removed from power democratically, which limited the political imagination of many Hungarians.

Nóra Schultz is a Hungarian political theorist and podcaster

Departing PM Viktor Orbán admits ‘political era has ended’ as EU says ‘clock is ticking’ to resolve important issues

EU officials have arrived in Budapest for high-stakes talks aimed at reshaping the bloc’s strained relationship with Hungary, weeks before the new government takes office, as the country’s departing prime minister, Viktor Orbán, admitted a “political era has ended” and suggested he would stay on as leader of his party in his first interview since the election.

Speaking to the pro-government outlet Patrióta, Orbán described Sunday’s election as an “emotional rollercoaster” after the opposition Tisza party won a landslide victory, bringing an end to his 16 years in power.

Nach 16 Jahren Orbán steht Ungarn vor einem Neuanfang. Leicht wird es nicht. In Polen etwa wirkt die achtjährige PiS-Ära noch immer nach, in Brasilien die vier Jahre unter Bolsonaro. Was lässt sich daraus lernen?

Individuals such as Matt Goodwin and Lord Frost benefited from largesse of self-styled ‘illiberal democracy’

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The last 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule have been kind to a number of British political figures – from the Tory peer David Frost to Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin and James Orr.

All benefited from largesse extended by the self-styled “illiberal democracy” established by the Hungarian leader’s ruling Fidesz party, which took a particular liking for those on the harder right of British conservatism.

Der designierte ungarische Ministerpräsident kündigt an, scharf gegen die staatsnahen Medien der Orbán-Ära vorzugehen. Welche Umwälzungen er noch plant.

Premier Orbán hat Bildungseinrichtungen der neuen Rechten mit Steuergeldern aufgepumpt – sein designierter Nachfolger sieht darin ein Verbrechen. Auf seine Pläne wollen die Betroffenen „kreativ“ reagieren.

Ukrainian president says nearly 700 Russian drones and 19 ballistic missiles mostly targeted Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro

German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Irish prime minister Micheál Martin are now speaking at a press conference after their meeting in Berlin.

Let’s listen in.

Péter Magyar compares media coverage to Nazi-era Germany and aims to ‘restore its public service character’

Hungary’s prime minister-elect has vowed to suspend state media news coverage, describing it as a “propaganda machine,” when his government takes office around mid-May.

Péter Magyar, whose landslide election victory on Sunday brought an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power, detailed his plans for the suspension as he gave two tense interviews to public radio and television on Wednesday.

Leaders of Poland and Germany hail Péter Magyar’s majority as a turning of the tide – but analysts say there were other reasons for defeat of prime minister

For Poland’s Donald Tusk, the crushing defeat of Hungary’s illiberal prime minister, Viktor Orbán, after 16 years in office was evidence that the world was no longer “condemned to authoritarian and corrupt governments”.

Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, also believes the two-thirds majority secured by Orbán’s centre-right challenger, Péter Magyar, in Sunday’s elections was “a clear signal against rightwing populism” that showed “the pendulum is swinging back”.

Péter Magyar did not need to dismantle the system – but he understood that Hungarians care more about the cost of living than conspiracies

Hungary’s election delivered an unprecedented victory for Viktor Orbán’s challenger. With a record turnout of nearly 80% and a supermajority for the Tisza party of almost 70% of the seats, this was not merely a change of government: it was a change of regime, compressed into a single election night.

After 16 years in power, Orbán became the victim of his own creation. Hungary’s electoral machinery, carefully engineered to convert a relative majority into overwhelming parliamentary dominance, worked perfectly – just not for him. In the end, the opposition leader, Péter Magyar, did not need to dismantle the system; he simply recognised the rules of the game and played to win. Orbán’s 2011 electoral laws, designed to punish a fragmented opposition, ultimately proved fatal to their creator, when he was faced with a challenger who could turn those winner-takes-all mechanics to his advantage.

Tibor Dessewffy is director of the digital sociology research centre at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, and a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations

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Jahrelang hat Ungarns Premier in der EU die Interessen von Kremlchef Putin vertreten. Doch nach Orbáns historischer Abwahl muss sich Russland umstellen. Wie groß kann sein Einfluss als Öl- und Gaslieferant noch sein?

US president says he wasn’t ‘involved’ in Hungarian election despite JD Vance’s trip to Budapest ahead of polls

After Péter Magyar’s criticism of the state broadcaster earlier today (11:43 and 12:37), the state media authority hit back at his claims of being shut out during the campaign, saying it had extended multiple invitations to Magyar and his party.

The incoming leader used his interviews with the state broadcasters to confront the outlets over their coverage, accusing them of spreading fear and lies and comparing their coverage to propaganda from North Korea and Nazi-era Germany. “Every Hungarian deserves a public service media that broadcasts the truth,” Magyar told Kossuth state radio.

“We have just witnessed the last days of a propaganda machine. After the formation of the Tisza government, we will suspend the news services of the ‘public’ media until its public service character is restored.”

Poland has shown that it takes far more time and energy to rebuild a country’s rule of law than it does to dismantle it

“Historic” is an adjective used too often these days, at the risk of trivialising the word and diluting its substance. But Sunday’s Hungarian election, which marked the fall of Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, deserves the label. The chief architect of European illiberalism, the man who dismantled Hungary’s rule of law, presided over a system of endemic corruption and stood as an avowed enemy of Ukraine is gone.

The scale of the moment is undeniable. For Ukraine and for the European project, the relief is palpable. With an election turnout of 79.5% – the highest the country has seen since the fall of the USSR – and a strong mobilisation of the youth vote, the Hungarian people have delivered a clear mandate for change. Despite the explicit support of Donald Trump and the Maga-sphere, despite an electoral map gerrymandered in his favour and a locked-down media landscape, Orbán lost. What is more, he lost so decisively that he was forced to concede immediately. There is, without a doubt, reason for enthusiasts of liberal democracy to celebrate – a “Budapest spring” in its own right.

Blanche Leridon is director of French studies at Institut Montaigne, an author and a lecturer at Sciences Po Paris

With the ejection of Trumpian hero Viktor Orbán, Hungarians demanded a restored democracy. Now, Europe must support them

To be in Budapest last Sunday evening was to see history again being made on the Danube. As rapturous crowds gathered on the riverbank opposite the brightly illuminated parliament building, chanting “Ria-ria Hungaria!” and “Hungary-Europe!”, we all knew that the implications of the dramatic election victory for the Tisza party of Péter Magyar go far beyond this one central European country. The result is very good news for Ukraine and the European Union. It’s correspondingly bad news for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the US president, Donald Trump, those twin backers of Viktor Orbán’s regime. The critical question now is whether Hungary can be the first country in the world to emerge from such a far-reaching populist erosion of democracy – the “Orbánisation” Trump is trying to emulate in the US – and whether Europe has the political will and imagination to enable it to succeed.

Already on Friday evening, standing amid a huge crowd of young people at a “system-changer” concert on Heroes’ Square, I felt the energy for change. In the very square where, back in 1989, I watched a fiery young student leader named Viktor Orbán call for the end of the weary old communist regime and for the Russians to go home, I now saw a new generation of Hungarians calling for the end of a weary old regime led by this same Orbán and his Fidesz party. “Filthy Fidesz!” they cried and, yes, “Russians go home!” For everyone knows that today’s Orbán is Putin’s man in Brussels.

Timothy Garton Ash is a historian, political writer and Guardian columnist. His book The Magic Lantern contains an eyewitness account of the young Orbán’s 1989 appearance in Heroes’ Square