256. Hungarians defeat Trump, Putin, and Meloni in a single stroke
In a single stroke, 9.5 million Hungarians have rejected the dictatorship and right-wing ideology in Hungary, and they will now find their place in the trash at the bottom of the Danube River, which has seen centuries of history pass by.
Péter Magyar is now Hungary's new prime minister. He defeated Viktor Orbán, who had received endorsements from leaders such as Marine Le Pen of France, Giorgia Meloni of Italy, and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. All of them have a red left cheek today. The election attracted close international attention.
Days before the election, US Vice President JD Vance traveled to Budapest, openly saying he had come to help Orbán, while Donald Trump had vowed to bring US economic might to the country if Orbán was re-elected.
I read Ervin Nagy’s tweet, one of Hungary’s most well-known film actors, “For the next four years Hungarians can expect safety, peace, freedom, and that no one will interfere in their lives.”
It wasn’t a defeat of ‘Orbánism’ but also Trumpism. Hungary’s massive state disinformation machinery portrayed Magyar as a threat to the country and a stooge of the EU and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“My fellow Hungarians, we have done it. Tonight, truth prevailed over lies. Today, we won because Hungarians didn’t ask what their homeland could do for them – they asked what they could do for their homeland. You found the answer, and you followed through,” said Magyar, 45, to tens of thousands of jubilant supporters gathered along the Danube River to celebrate.
Magyar has promised to mend Hungary’s tense EU relations, fight corruption, and direct funds to neglected public services. With 138 of the 199 seats in the country’s parliament, his party holds a supermajority capable of amending the constitution and key laws.
However, Hungary’s path ahead is complicated because, like the Congress Party in India in 2014, Orban’s Fidesz controls the business sector, the media, public administration, and the judiciary. Remember the dialogue: "Sarkar tumhari hai par system to hamara hai."
Orban’s administration reportedly changed election laws to benefit itself, appointed loyalists to key media outlets, restructured the judiciary, and repressed opposition. During his 16-year rule, the country plunged in press freedom rankings, was labeled an electoral autocracy, and became the most corrupt country in the EU.
Relations between Orbán’s government and the EU reached new lows when Orbán vetoed additional EU sanctions on Russia and a €90bn loan to Ukraine. There were claims that Orbán’s government had leaked confidential EU information to Moscow.
The result was likely to reset Hungary's relationship with the EU. Naturally, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said, “Europe’s heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.”
UK’s Keir Starmer called it a “historic moment, not only for Hungary but for European democracy.”
Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, proclaimed, “Back together! Glorious victory, dear friends!” on social media, also including a Hungarian message: “Russians, go home!”
The best remark I liked came from America, where US Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said the results of the Hungarian election did not bode well for the Trump administration. “Far-right authoritarian Viktor Orbán has lost the election,” he wrote on social media. “Trump sycophants and MAGA extremists in Congress are up next in November. Winter is coming.”
Yes, winter is coming, and Trump and his goons in the cabinet must be taught a lesson. Trump, his family, and close associates have turned the world into their own sports field, making money on each of their own announcements on Truth Social. Yes, they are businessmen, not politicians, and they know all the tricks to play the stock market.