Hungary

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I watched Hungary’s democracy dissolve into authoritarianism and see parallels in Trumpism

Hungarian leader and strongman Viktor Orbán, who presided over the radical decline of democracy in his country, is scheduled to meet with former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on March 8, 2024.

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/03/08/i-watched-hungarys-democracy-dissolve-into-authoritarianism-and-see-parallels-in-trumpism/?

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Former Hungarian insider releases audio he says is proof of corruption in embattled Orbán government

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A former Hungarian government insider turned critic released an audio recording on Tuesday that he says proves that top officials conspired to cover up corruption, the latest development in a scandal that has shaken Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s domination of the country’s politics.

https://apnews.com/article/hungarian-insider-publishes-recording-government-misconduct-9cd95284050241f395be9ce5247a6052?

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How Hungary’s Orbán uses control of the media to escape scrutiny and keep the public in the dark

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — In the months leading up to elections for the European Parliament, Hungarians were warned that casting a ballot against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would be a vote for all-out war.

https://apnews.com/article/hungary-media-democracy-orban-magyar-european-parliament-f6315d7cc252f210c360863de403054e?

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Hungary’s new anti-LGBTQ+ law bans Pride events and sparks protests

A new anti-LGBTQ+ law passed in Hungary on Tuesday bans Pride events and allows authorities to use facial recognition software to identify those attending the festivities, leading to a large demonstration on the streets of Budapest. Read More.   Hungary passes constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ public events, seen as a major blow to rights Hungary’s parliament on Monday passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics call another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government. Read More.

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Hungary’s oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation

PANNONHALMA, Hungary (AP) — Tens of thousands of centuries-old books are being pulled from the shelves of a medieval abbey in Hungary in an effort to save them from a beetle infestation that could wipe out centuries of history.

https://apnews.com/article/hungary-library-abbey-beetle-infestation-pannonhalma-11069ba2713340ed28d27e3d7c8498cf?

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A youth-led push for change threatens Orbán’s 16-year rule in Hungary’s elections

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A group of friends in their mid-20s campaigned door to door last week in a small Hungarian city, supporting a political movement that soon could end Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ‘s 16-year grip on power.

https://apnews.com/article/hungary-election-youth-voters-orban-58e71836ef9e3a38bc478bdbde9ca0b0?

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Hungary’s Orbán has long annoyed the European Union. Now some hope he faces defeat

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary ‘s elections on April 12 will have profound aftershocks as many in the European Union hope for the defeat of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is widely seen as endangering the future of the 27-nation bloc.

https://apnews.com/article/hungary-orban-eu-elections-reforms-brussels-budapest-69868c03330a50c679050bf585cdf92e?

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Viktor Orbán

Hungary’s populist prime minister and a darling of the MAGA movement is trailing in the polls ahead of parliamentary elections this weekend. At a recent rally in Budapest to support Viktor Orbán, President Trump addressed the crowd through Vice President JD Vance’s phone, saying, “I’m a big fan of Viktor. I’m with him all the way. The United States is with him all the way.” There's a lot at stake for Hungary, but the election could also test the limits of a potential "Trumpian revolution" in Europe. ps:The US is not behind Orban! Maybe maga are!!

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Orbán and Magyar trade accusations in last days of Hungary election campaign

Viktor Orbán and his centre-right rival, Péter Magyar, have traded accusations of enlisting foreign interference in a high-stakes election that polls suggest could mark the end of the nationalist Hungarian prime minister’s 16 years in power.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/10/viktor-orban-peter-magyar-hungary-election-campaign?

Hungary decides in a key election that could unseat populist Prime Minister Orbán

Hungarians were casting ballots Sunday in what is widely seen as Europe’s most consequential election this year, a vote that could unseat populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power. It’s a key moment for Orbán, the European Union’s longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, who has traveled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Hungary’s election could end Orbán’s journey from liberal firebrand to far-right leader Hungary’s Orbán has long annoyed the European Union. Now some hope he faces defeat What’s behind Péter Magyar’s ascent from a government insider to Orbán’s top challenger   Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán is ejected after 16 years in a European electoral earthquake BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement that he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger in a bombshell election result with global repercussions. https://apnews.com/article/hungary-election-orban-magyar-trump-1a4eb0ba6b94e0c80c3cd18bd36254ab?

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Hungary Hits Polls

Hungarian voters turned out in record numbers, ousting longtime leader Viktor Orbán yesterday and electing the party of center-right Péter Magyar. Turnout was over 77%, the highest in nearly four decades of post-Communist government. In his 16 years in power, Orbán's nationalist-populist Fidesz party won four consecutive elections, today holding a two-thirds majority in parliament. Orbán has been known for cracking down on migration, LGBTQ+ rights, and media access. Internationally, he’s known as a counterweight to the European Union’s pro-Ukrainian positions, using the country’s veto power to block a $104B loan to Kyiv as recently as last month. President Donald Trump has endorsed Orbán, with Vice President JD Vance stumping alongside him last week. Since breaking from Fidesz in 2024, Péter Magyar’s Tisza party has made gains in the polls, campaigning on Hungary’s sluggish economy (see GDP) and alleged corruption.

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Election loss for Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán has ripple effects for Trump It was a stunning blow for Orbán — a close ally of both President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — who quickly conceded defeat to pro-European challenger Péter Magyar after what Orban called a “painful” election result. Read more.

Why this matters: Trump and many U.S. conservatives have long embraced Orbán, who has become an icon among the global right for his anti-immigrant stance. Trump’s agenda has striking parallels with the way the Hungarian leader used the levers of government to tilt the media, judiciary and electoral system to keep his party in power for 16 years.   Trump supported Orbán’s reelection bid and even dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Budapest last week — in the midst of the Iran war — to stump for the incumbent. Orbán’s loss is a reminder of how the Iran war has diminished Trump’s ability to help allied politicians overseas.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Photos from Hungary’s election, as voters end Orbán’s 16-year rule   In their words: How leaders reacted to Orbán’s defeat   WATCH: Reactions from the streets of Hungary

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Failed US-Iran talks in Pakistan raise questions about fragile ceasefire Neither side appears to have budged much from its ceasefire terms during face-to-face talks over 21 hours. There was no word on whether negotiations will resume, and President Donald Trump made new threats against Iran, raising questions about what happens when a current two-week truce expires on April 22. Read more.

Why this matters: The setback showed how entrenched the sides remain after an inconclusive 40-day war. Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation, said that Iran had failed to give assurances that it will not seek to develop a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile Iran’s chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said the U.S. must decide “whether it can gain our trust or not.” He did not mention the core disputes in a series of social media posts. But other Iranian officials signaled that the Strait of Hormuz remains a key sticking point.   Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said his country will try to facilitate a new round of dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in the coming days. There was no immediate reaction from either side.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Live updates: Ship traffic appears to halt in Strait of Hormuz after Trump’s blockade announcement   Pope Leo says he does not fear Trump, citing Gospel as he pushes back in feud over Iran war   Already under financial pressure, Midwest soybean farmers are squeezed further by tariffs, Iran war   WATCH: Tehran residents react to peace talks ending without agreement

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Hungary returns a seized cash and gold shipment worth $82 million to Ukraine

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A shipment of Ukrainian cash and gold worth around $82 million that Hungary seized earlier this year has been returned to Ukraine’s state Oschadbank, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/hungary-ukraine-cash-gold-shipment-zelenskyy-c6181fc0aec462e05cce8781a993aa97?

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🇭🇺 Hungary's new day

A jubilant crowd of tens of thousands watches the swearing-in of Péter Magyar, Hungary's new prime minister, on a screen outside Hungarian Parliament in Budapest yesterday. Photo: Ferenc Isza/AFP via Getty Images Pro-European, center-right Péter Magyar was sworn in as Hungary's prime minister, succeeding Viktor Orbán, who consolidated near-total power over 16 years and became a global exemplar of right-wing nationalism. Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer, said in his inaugural speech that his landslide win provided "a mandate not only to change the government, but to change the system as well. To start again." Péter Magyar greets supporters outside Hungarian Parliament in Budapest yesterday. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images 🇪🇺 The EU flag was raised on the parliament building in Budapest for the first time since Orbán's government removed it in 2014. Keep reading.

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Hungary's Péter Magyar was sworn in as prime minister Saturday, ending Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule after Magyar's landslide electoral victory last month.

The center-right politician was once an ally of Orbán but broke from his Fidesz party in 2024, accusing the government of mass corruption. Now, Magyar has pledged to strengthen relations with the European Union and unlock $20B in frozen EU funds. He has also pledged to tackle corruption, reinstate checks and balances in Hungary's institutions, and suspend the public broadcaster, seen as loyal to Orbán. Like Orbán, Magyar has called for strong border protection and has opposed accepting asylum-seekers. See how Hungary stacks up to other countries on metrics of freedom here.

Last month’s election saw record turnout, with nearly 79% of eligible voters casting ballots. Magyar’s Tisza party won more votes and seats than any other in the country’s post-Communist history. See data from the election here.