Victor Orbán defeated in Hungarian elections after 16 years in power

With Viktor Orbán’s defeat on Sunday, April 12, 2026, Hungary experienced a significant political turning point that can be considered historic. More than just a Prime Minister, Orbán had become the leader of Europe’s far-right movements. Sylvain Kahn, a professor at the Sciences Po History Center, author of “Is Atlanticism Dead? Long Live Europe!” (Aube/Fondation Jean-Jaurès, 2025), and “Europe: A State Ignoring Itself” (CNRS Editions, 2026), analyzes what Europe can expect from the new power in Budapest, and what it should not be misled about.

On Sunday, April 12, 2026, Hungary witnessed a political shift that can be described as historic. Viktor Orbán lost power after sixteen years of rule. The Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, won the majority with 53.40% of the votes. This translates to 139 seats out of the 199 in the National Assembly. Orbán’s Fidesz party received 38.13% of the votes. The voter turnout reached 79.56%, a figure not seen since the return of democracy in 1990. In 2022, the turnout was 62.92%. Eight million voters were called to the polls.

This means that a portion of Orbán’s voter base turned away from Fidesz and joined Tisza. It’s worth noting that Fidesz’s score remained close to 40% of the votes – a remarkable achievement for an outgoing party in power for sixteen years. Magyar’s victory was not the result of a radical shift in the Hungarian society but rather the majority’s endorsement of a certain continuity and radical change from Orbán’s rule.

He managed to capture the discontent among the population, fueled by a very difficult economic situation. The cumulative inflation has exceeded 50% since 2020, exacerbated by the crisis related to Covid-19. The prices of food and energy weigh heavily on households’ standard of living. Salaries have remained stagnant despite government promises. In this new context, the denunciation of the systemic corruption in the power and administration system established by Fidesz and Orbán garnered the support of a majority of voters and led to a surge in voter mobilization.

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Nevertheless, the former Hungarian Prime Minister has locked down all institutions, and also – in the name of patriotism – the economy, which he concentrated in the hands of his allies and his “clan,” while still benefiting from clientelistic practices that found their limits in 2026. A tough challenge awaits his successor. Orbán, at 62 years old, can very well make a comeback into the spotlight. He is supported both by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The kleptocratic or even mafia-like system he put in place remains deeply rooted, and nearly 40% of voters supported him on April 12, 2026. This Orbánist infrastructure retains its privileges and rents, while still enjoying a certain social base; it will therefore act with inertia and possibly seek to sabotage the new team’s promises.

With the extreme right radical party “Our Homeland” obtaining 5.86% of the votes and maintaining its presence in the Assembly, the current situation in Poland led by Donald Tusk since 2023, who is also affiliated with the EPP, demonstrates the difficulty of reforming a state after a long period of illiberal power – with the PiS in this case. This indicates that Magyar and Tisza have no room for error, and their path ahead is narrow.