What just happened in Hungary has a huge positive impact far beyond Hungary. For Ukraine, for the EU, for the future of authoritarianism internationally......
Also, celebrating with a parliamentary techno rave sounds absolutely perfect and I'm jealous of everyone who got to attend. Also, to live in a country with an ousted dictator? Doesn't that sound nice.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat after what he called a ″painful″ election result, ending 16 years in power for a p
By JUSTIN SPIKE and SAM McNEILUpdated 12:28 PM MST, April 12, 2026
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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conceded defeat on Sunday after what he called a ″painful″ election result, ending 16 years in power for a powerful figure in the far-right movement allied with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I congratulated the victorious party,″ Orbán told supporters in Budapest. “We are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition as well.”
Initial official results show opposition leader Peter Magyar’s party dominating the election.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar said that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conceded defeat in Sunday’s election in a phone call, in a bombshell election with repercussions across Europe and beyond.
Magyar posted on Facebook that “Prime Minister Viktor Orbán just congratulated me on the phone on our victory.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat after what he called a ″painful″ election result, ending 16 years in power for a d
Viktor Orban was the role model for the new crop of wannabe fascist autocrats across the world. Since 2010, he systematically undermined the rule of law, taking over the judiciary and the media with the help of his oligarch buddies. He used his power to turn Hungary into a banana republic, lining his pockets while living standards stagnated. And of course, he turned his country into a Russian vassal that used its position within the EU and NATO to undermine them. But that was fine because he was "keeping the scary migrants away" and "sticking it to Brussels". It's no wonder everyone from JD to Meloni to Milei to Le Pen went all in for him: he was the living embodiment of everything they wanted to accomplish.
After 16 long years, his reign is finally over. The Hungarian people have finally had enough and decided to send him home in a landslide. Such a massive landslide in fact that he couldn't even try to steal it. This is a momentous shift in the European balance of power and one that will have immediate consequences, for example in terms of support for Ukraine. It is also proof that none of these tinpot dictators are as unbeatable as they'd like you to believe. Let's all take notes, and hopefully we will send out own fascist overlords packing very soon too.