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The end of an era for Hungary. Péter Magyar’s Tisza has emerged victorious from the 12 April parliamentary elections. With 53.07% of the vote and 138 seats (out of 199), Tisza won with a comfortable margin over Viktor Orban’s Fidesz (38.43%, 55 seats).
Magyar – a former member of Fidesz who stormed out of the party in 2024 following a political scandal with far-reaching consequences – has secured a two-thirds majority. This will give him the necessary elbow-room to form a government, break Orbán’s stranglehold on the state apparatus, the media and the courts, and even amend the Constitution. The election was also marked by record voter turnout (79.5% of registered voters).
While pro-democracy voters have much to celebrate with Fidesz’s historic defeat, the real work is yet to begin. Magyar deliberately kept his political plans vague during the election campaign in order to avoid leaving himself open to attacks by Orbán supporters.
He did, however, outline some major priorities: restoring democracy in Hungary, fighting corruption, revitalizing relations with the EU, and establishing “pragmatic” relations with the Kremlin while reducing the country’s dependence on Russian energy…
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