“This second regime-change after the collapse of communism can lead Hungary once again back to Europe,” writes István Hegedűs, a member of the ICDR, in his comments for the Forum 2000 Bulletin. “Tisza’s victory is only the first step toward dismantling Fidesz’s entrenched system of state capture and patronage networks,” says political analyst Zsuzsanna Végh.
Zsuzsanna Végh
Program officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and participant in the 28th annual Forum 2000 Conference, Hungary
István Hegedűs
Member of the ICDR, chairman of the Hungarian Europe Society and a former vice-chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament, Hungary
Zsuzsanna Végh
Program officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and participant in the 28th annual Forum 2000 Conference, Hungary
On April 12, Hungarian voters ousted Viktor Orbán’s government after 16 years in power. The overwhelming success of Péter Magyar’s Tisza party gives the incoming government not only a popular mandate but also the constitutional majority needed to embark on a path of regime change without being irrevocably constrained by the institutional playing field Fidesz constructed.
Never has a Hungarian parliamentary election drawn this much domestic and international attention since the democratic transition. Nearly 80 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots, and 53 percent supported the newcomer Tisza. Magyar’s sustained campaign – both online and across the country since spring 2024 – combined anti-government messaging with a focus on voters’ most pressing concerns, including the cost of living, social services, health care, and education. At the same time, his ability to articulate a positive vision, despite being the constant target of the governing party’s smear campaign, helped convince a broad and ideologically diverse coalition that change is achievable.
This success is also that of independent media and civil society. Independent outlets provided essential coverage and analysis throughout the campaign, effectively compensating for public service media that have long abandoned their professional ethos in service of the government. They also offered a platform for whistleblowers from law enforcement and the military, who turned to the public to expose abuses of power. Civil society organizations played a crucial role in tracking election day irregularities, building on lessons from previous elections to raise awareness of electoral fraud and help deter its recurrence.
Tisza’s victory is only the first step toward dismantling Fidesz’s entrenched system of state capture and patronage networks. Yet the unprecedented level of mobilization provides grounds for cautious optimism that Tisza’s two-thirds majority will be used to restore democratic governance and re-anchor Hungary in Europe. As the new government takes office in May, it is expected to move against Fidesz appointees leading key institutions, including the Constitutional Court, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the State Audit Office, the Supreme Court, and the presidency. It will also face pressure to ensure accountability for corruption and abuses of power over the past decade and a half.
Ultimately, the credibility of this democratic renewal will depend on how Tisza governs. Efforts to reform constitutional, institutional, and policy frameworks, as well as – importantly – the electoral system will test its commitment to democratic and inclusive governance. Ensuring transparency through independent – and reformed public – media, engaging civil society as a partner and a watchdog, and creating meaningful avenues for public participation will be key indicators of whether the new leadership can meet the expectations of the diverse coalition that brought it to power.
István Hegedűs
Member of the ICDR, chairman of the Hungarian Europe Society and a former vice-chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament, Hungary
Carnival in the cities and a total defeat of illiberal populism nationwide. Living 16 years in a hybrid, semi-authoritarian system, an overwhelming majority of Hungarians voted for change, for Europe, and for liberty. The highest turnout ever at elections showed the mobilizing capacity of a newly born moderate conservative catch-all political movement and the political talent of its leader, Péter Magyar.
With its constitutional majority, this member party of the European center-right political family is supposed to reconstruct and renew the institutions of liberal democracy, the rule of law, media freedom, and human and minority rights, while creating a partnership with the representatives of civil society. There will be strong pressure from the coalition of citizens – left-wingers, liberals, greens and pragmatic others, urban intellectuals and farmers, civil servants and big entrepreneurs – on the new government to restart economic development, to reform the health-care system, to restore educational autonomy and academic freedom, and to eradicate state corruption. The younger generations have lived almost only under Orbán’s rule and now rioted desperately and successfully against the irritating, simplistic, untruthful, ultraconservative, anti-Ukrainian and anti-Brussels state propaganda and protested against a hopeless future in case they remain in their homeland.
The new rhetoric of the middle-aged candidate prime minister is refreshing and the energetic start of the winners make liberals and democrats cheerful and optimistic. Still, the carnival mood and the honeymoon period might be short. Sooner or later, fragmentation within the anti-Orbán camp becomes inevitable. Moreover, Viktor Orbán has not given up. His Fidesz party intends to continue spreading smear campaign messages against out-groups as well as domestic and European liberal-minded elites. Péter Magyar, on the other hand, will not cultivate a special relationship with Russia and wants to adjust to the mainstream of European politics. He might make an agreement with the European Commission very quickly and bring back “home” Hungary’s frozen transfers from the EU budget.
This second regime-change after the collapse of communism can lead Hungary once again back to Europe. Finally, we can find our right place within the European Union and NATO. Hungary shows the way: it is possible to overcome an illiberal populist regime!
(Written on April 14, 2026)
The views expressed in these works are the responsibility of its authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forum 2000 Foundation or its staff.
