After nearly two decades in power, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz Party have conceded defeat. The populist conservative Fidesz was voted out of power Sunday, to be replaced by the Tisza Party, led by ex-Fidesz officer Péter Magyar. “The election result is painful for us, but understandable. I congratulated the Tisza Party,” Orbán said as the last votes came in.

As of Monday morning, Magyar’s Tisza won 53% of the vote and 138 seats in Hungary’s unicameral legislative body, the National Assembly, more than the two-thirds (133 seats) required to establish a supermajority and change the constitution. Orbán and Fidesz won less than 40% of the vote, losing 80 seats and keeping only 55. The ultranationalist Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland) Party, the third largest political party in the National Assembly, won six seats. “No matter how it turned out, we in the opposition will serve our country and the Hungarian nation,” Orbán said Sunday night. “We never give up!”

Over the years, Orbán has distinguished himself as a close ally of President Donald Trump, with many in Trump’s sphere upholding the policies of Fidesz as a model for Western governance. Trump even sent Vice President J.D. Vance to Hungary to campaign in support of Orbán and Fidesz.

Who Is Péter Magyar?

Before becoming affiliated with Fidesz, Magyar earned a law degree from Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest and worked pro bono defending protestors who opposed the Hungarian Socialist Party after then-Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány admitted that his party engaged in fraud to win the 2006 elections. Magyar then became affiliated with Fidesz and met his wife, Judit Varga. In 2010, Magyar was appointed as an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later worked for Orbán in the Prime Minister’s Office, while Varga was appointed Minister of Justice.

It wasn’t until 2024 that Magyar rose to prominence as a vocal critic of Fidesz, following President Katalin Novák’s pardoning of Endre Kónya, who was convicted of covering up the sexual abuse of children at the Kossuth Zsuzsa Children’s Home in Bicske. Magyar published a voice recording he had secretly taped of his wife confirming that she and Novák had pardoned Kónya, which resulted in both Novák and Varga resigning. Magyar had divorced Varga in 2023. The same day that Magyar released the audio recording, Varga published allegations that her ex-husband had physically abused her, locking her in rooms, shoving her against walls and furniture, and threatening her with a knife. While Magyar dismissed the allegations as attempted character assassination, a police report later confirmed that he had behaved aggressively towards his wife and towards police officers who responded to a domestic abuse call. Magyar subsequently accused Orbán and other Fidesz officials of widespread corruption.

Instead of founding a new political party to challenge Fidesz, Magyar joined the minority party Tisza, quickly being named the party leader and prime ministerial candidate due to his high profile. Over the course of 2024 and 2025, the new Tisza leader organized and led multiple rallies and demonstrations, mostly critical of Fidesz, accusing Orbán of ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Magyar was elected a member of the European Parliament in 2024, while Tisza candidates won roughly 30% of the vote across the nation, a record for candidates not affiliated with Fidesz.

What Is Tisza?

Much of Fidesz’s policy and rhetoric have centered on defending traditional Christian values and the nuclear family, honoring Hungarian heritage, and opposing both mass immigration and the European Union’s overreach. Founded in 2020, Tisza was originally a moderate conservative party but has moved significantly towards the center since Magyar took over in 2024. At the time, Magyar brought his own political allies from the non-party “Stand Up Hungarians Community” into Tisza, and they assumed nearly all political positions and candidacies, effectively transforming the party.

One of the chief areas of difference between Fidesz and Tisza centers on the EU and immigration policy. While Orbán and Fidesz have largely taken a hostile stance towards the EU and openly defied its policies mandating LGBT acceptance and liberal immigration policy, Magyar and Tisza are friendlier towards the EU and the incoming prime minister has indicated that he is likely willing to compromise with the EU on particular issues, including mass immigration. The EU has previously withheld €20 billion ($23.4 billion) in funding from Hungary over Orbán’s refusal to accept refugees and asylum applicants. Magyar has said that he would accept those funds, but has criticized Fidesz for bringing temporary foreign workers into Hungary.

Tisza candidates have also steered clear of social issues, such as abortion and the LGBT agenda, which Magyar has derided as a distraction from more important matters and labeled “government propaganda” intended to scare up support for Fidesz. Although Orbán and Fidesz passed a law barring LGBT Pride parades in Hungary, demonstrators ignored the law to host the Budapest Pride parade in 2025. Tisza neither condemned nor encouraged the event, but celebrated the parade as evidence of Orbán’s declining popularity.

Reactions

Across the Western world, various political figures are congratulating Magyar on his victory, while others warn that Orbán’s ouster will likely have disastrous results for Hungary. Former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were quick to congratulate Magyar and kick Orbán on his way out. “The victory of the opposition in Hungary yesterday, like the Polish election in 2023, is a victory for democracy, not just in Europe but around the world,” said Obama, referring to EU-aligned Donald Tusk’s win in Poland. “Most of all, it’s a testament to the resilience and determination of the Hungarian people — and a reminder to all of us to keep striving for fairness, equality and the rule of law,” he continued. Clinton said, more bluntly, “The end of Viktor Orbán’s autocratic regime is a victory not just for Hungary, but for people who value democracy around the world. Congratulations to Tisza, to incoming leader Péter Magyar, and to Hungarians everywhere.”

Ursula Von Der Leyen, the president of the European Commission (the EU’s executive body), also hailed Magyar’s victory over Orbán. “Today, Europe is Hungarian, without any question,” she said at a press conference. “The people of Hungary have spoken, and they have reclaimed the European path. It is a victory for fundamental freedoms,” she continued, comparing Orbán’s tenure as the nation’s democratically-elected leader to the Soviet Union’s brutal oppression of the Hungarian people. Alex Soros, chairman of the Open Society Foundation and the son of Hungarian-born billionaire and left-wing activist George Soros, joined the throng. “The people of Hungary have taken back their country!” he said. “A resounding rejection of entrenched corruption and foreign interference.”

Tech billionaire and sometime-Trump ally Elon Musk responded to Magyar’s victory by alleging that the “Soros Organization has taken over Hungary.” Overton Institute Co-Founder Joey Mannarino, who is currently aiding conservative political organizations across Europe in strategy, commented, “Hungarians have no idea what they’ve just lost in Viktor Orban. People spent years saying that Orban was a dictator and an autocrat. He just called Magyar to concede the elections without claiming fraud or trying to rig the system. Hungary has always been a democracy.” He added, “Orban was never a dictator like the media said. He was a great man and an incredible leader. And now, Hungary just gave that all away to a man that NO ONE knows what to expect from.” Mannarino continued, “You’re going to miss what you had, Hungary. I hope Magyar keeps the migrants out... or Budapest is going to turn into ‘Buss-it-open-apest’ just like Paris, London and Berlin where you get raped walking out of the train station. May God save the Hungarian people.”

“This is a dark day in European history,” Dutch legal scholar and conservative political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek said. “Looks like the last bastion is gone. The Hungarians are about to learn the true meaning of ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.’ And the rest of us in Europe have just lost our only real stronghold against the EU. Devastating,” she continued.

“It’s a disaster not just for Hungary that he lost, but also for us and the rest of Europe, because Hungary, under Viktor Orbán, was the only country putting up a real resistance to the EU,” Vlaardingerbroek said in a video statement. “He did it when it came to immigration. He did it when it came to sending all the money to Ukraine. He did it when it comes to — in general, just protection of European values, Christianity, and heritage. He was the only one,” she continued. “And now this new prime minister, Péter Magyar … already said that he wants to do a U-turn on the EU stance of Hungary. He wants to unlock EU funds as soon as possible, and he wants Hungary to enter into the eurozone now.” Vlaardingerbroek noted that it will be almost impossible for Magyar to reclaim the €20 billion withheld by the EU without agreeing to major shifts in immigration and asylum policies. “You must be stupidly naive to believe something like that.”

“I am praying for the future of Hungary and for Europe as a whole, because we lost our strongest fighter, we lost our strongest player. I don’t understand why there are still people, even on the right wing, who don’t seem to see this. They were the change that we want to be,” Vlaardingerbroek concluded. “Hard not to feel demoralized, but I suppose it is a big battle that we’ve lost. But the fight will and must go on.”