Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Loses Reelection Bid

Break out the champagne! The 16-year reign of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (above) comes to an end after a crushing election loss on Sunday to his opponent, Péter Magyar.

Magyar’s Tisza Party won 138 of 199 parliamentary seats in a landslide, securing a two-thirds supermajority with nearly 80% turnout, the highest in Hungary’s post-communist history.

As I’ve reported here many times, Orbán – among many horrible decisions – has headed up many virulently anti-LGBTQ policies during his time in office including passing a law labeling queer people “pedophiles,” and banning Budapest Pride making it a criminal offense to attend.

Via Politico:

The EU’s most autocratic leader — a close ally of both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — was on course to lose by a decisive margin in Sunday’s vote.

Magyar announced on Facebook at 9. 12 p.m. that: “Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has just called to congratulate us on our victory.”

If that margin of victory holds, Magyar will secure a supermajority that will allow him to unravel key features of Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” — demolishing the prime minister’s tight control over the judiciary, state companies and the media.

Orbán’s departure will come as a huge relief to the EU, whose systemic weaknesses he has exposed and exploited for years, most recently by helping Putin block €90 billion of European support to Ukraine.

This will be a particularly painful sting for Trump as he offered several endorsements of Orbán prior to today’s election.


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