BRUSSELS — In Brussels, where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made an art form of obstructing European Union policies, the sigh of relief over Orban’s resounding election defeat on Sunday was nearly audible. Some who regarded Orban a longtime nemesis could barely mask their jubilation.
“A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger,” the head of the E.U.’s executive branch, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, posted soon after the result emerged. The Hungarian leader conceded Sunday night to Peter Magyar, a conservative who promised to rebuild democratic institutions after 16 years of erosion under Orban, who reshaped the political system in his favor.
In 2015, von der Leyen’s predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker, once greeted Orban with a playful slap on the cheek, declaring: “Hello, dictator.”
The Trump administration and the Kremlin both offered Orban their support, including endorsements from President Donald Trump and a campaign visit to Budapest by Vice President JD Vance last week, just days before the vote. Now, Washington and Moscow are losing the man each capital regards as arguably its closest ideological compatriot in Europe.
But in Brussels, the E.U. leadership rejoiced Monday over a potential watershed moment for the bloc, as Hungarian voters dispatched its staunchest internal detractor. Many E.U. decisions require the unanimity of the 27 member nations, and Orban wielded his veto with gusto, especially when it came to blocking aid to Ukraine or thwarting sanctions against Russia.
The E.U. has long been at odds with Orban, a self-proclaimed champion of illiberal Christian democracy and hero to Europe’s right-wing populists. But there is more on the line these days for the E.U.’s vision of itself as a standard-bearer for liberal, rules-based democracy as it comes under threat by rising far-right forces across the continent and from a global populist resurgence amplified by Trump’s MAGA movement.
Magyar, 45, a former member of Orban’s Fidesz party, is a staunch conservative, and many of his views will be anathema to Europe’s Social Democrats, the mainstream center-left political family, not to mention even more progressive parties like the Greens. But Magyar, a member of the European Parliament, has already promised to be more of a team player.
“We will restore the system of checks and balances, guarantee democratic functions of the country and never allow anyone to capture the free Hungarian state,” he said in his victory address on Sunday. “We will restore institutions that protect democracy. Hungary will once again be the strong ally of the E.U. and NATO.”
If Hungary has played an outsize role in the E.U., it’s largely because Orban in recent years cemented his position as disruptor-in-chief — often confounding his fellow leaders or infuriating the officials responsible for making the European project function. Empowered by Hungary’s veto power and the E.U.’s sluggish, consensus-based politics, he pushed back hard on policies that would have made Europe more welcoming to migrants and refugees, ultimately winning support from more mainstream leaders and becoming an ally of MAGA activists in the global culture wars.
“The result is nothing short of a game changer for Hungary and the Europeans,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group consultancy.
Orban also made Brussels-bashing a pillar of his political platform. During the campaign he accused the E.U. of trying to interfere in the race, while gratefully accepting support from the Trump administration and Russia. (Russian intelligence operatives grew so alarmed at his failing campaign that they drew up a plan to stage an assassination attempt in hopes of boosting support, The Washington Post reported last month.)
In the run-up to the election, tensions spiked with his E.U. peers as Orban, in a first, reneged on a dealmade by all 27 national leaders, and blocked a 90 billion-euro aid package for Ukraine as his standoff with Kyiv intensified. In a failed campaign strategy, he warned voters that Magyar would drag Hungary into Russia’s war in support of Ukraine.
A slew of recent revelations about the Hungarian foreign minister’s dealings with Moscow further strained relations with Hungarian counterparts at the E.U. in recent weeks, E.U. diplomats said.
Magyar will enter government with an outreached hand toward the European Union. Yet he has also expressed skepticism toward some E.U. policies. He previously opposed sending weapons to Ukraine, and he has indicated that Hungary’s imports of Russian energy would continue for now, despite an E.U. effort to cut reliance on Russian gas and oil.
On Sunday, Magyar announced that his first trip will be to Poland, where the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk similarly ousted a Euroskeptic predecessor. Magyar also said that he would visit Brussels, to smooth over relations and launch reforms to secure the release billions of euros in E.U. funding for Hungary, which have been held up because of concerns in Brussels over erosion of democratic norms.
Magyar received congratulatory calls from several European leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Let us move forward together towards a more sovereign Europe, for the security of our continent, our competitiveness, and our democracy,” Macron wrote after the result.
Catherine Belton in London contributed to this report.
The post E.U. revels in defeat of Hungary’s Orban, Trump ally who defied Brussels appeared first on Washington Post.
