Hungary was hungry for change. How Orban's former aide brought down his govt?

New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 14, 2026 09:22 IST

For 16 years, the East-European nation of Hungary was ruled by Prime Minister Viktor Orban of the Fidesz party. But Orban, the leader described by many as a populist conservative, is now on his way out as his party was defeated in the national elections on Sunday. And the person who orchestrated the outgoing PM's downfall is Peter Magyar, who was once an aide of Orban and held several important posts in Hungary.

The Orban associate broke with the party, joined a little-known party — Tisza, and is now poised to win the 2026 polls in Hungary.

Orban, whom the European Union called "quasi-authoritarian", was alleged to have concentrated power and dismantled democracy through various means, including gerrymandering.

The complete results of the Hungarian election are expected to be announced in the days to come. Magyar, who is leading at more than two-thirds of the seats in the Parliament, is expected to be Hungary's next Prime Minister.

Former US President Barack Obama, reacting to the poll results, called it a "victory of democracy".

"The victory of the opposition in Hungary yesterday, like the Polish election in 2023, is a victory for democracy, not just in Europe but around the world. Most of all, it's a testament to the resilience and determination of the Hungarian people – and a reminder to all of us to keep striving for fairness, equality and the rule of law," Obama wrote on X.

This is the story of why Orban, after leading Hungary for 16 years, had to concede defeat. This story is also a bit about Magyar, who went from being an aide of Orban to trouncing him in the polls. First, let us have a look at who Magyar is and how he orchestrated the defeat of his former boss, Viktor Orban.

WHO IS PETER MAGYAR, OPPOSITION LEADER WHO TOOK DOWN VICTOR ORBAN

Despite the institutional advantages Orban had built — control over the judiciary, the media, and the electoral map — they proved insufficient. With nearly all votes counted, Fidesz is on his way to a landslide defeat. Orban had already conceded defeat on the election night on Sunday.

The David who felled this Goliath is Peter Magyar.

A lawyer by training, Magyar joined Orban's Fidesz early and held several positions inside the system, starting 2010.

This included Magyar being a diplomat at Hungary's Permanent Representation to the EU, an official post in the Prime Minister's Office, head of the EU Legal Directorate at state-owned MBH Bank, and later the CEO of the government-run Student Loan Centre.

In 2024, Magyar quit the party, posted videos denouncing its corruption. He joined a small party called the Tisza.

Through relentless campaigning — especially in rural areas that were Orban's strongholds — Magyar transformed Tisza into the dominant opposition force.

According to a report in The Economist, his key achievement was consolidating Hungary's previously fragmented opposition, with rival parties largely stepping aside to let him lead.

Projections show Tisza winning around 137-138 seats in the 199-seat Parliament, enough for the two-thirds supermajority (133 seats) needed to amend the constitution and begin rolling back Orban's changes.

Final official results for the Hungarian elections are expected by April 18.

While Magyar broke ranks with Orban and took on the Hungarian strongman, his rise was also aided by many of the outgoing Prime Minister's policies.

CONCENTRATION OF POWER, PRO-TRUMP AND PRO-RUSSIA STANCE LED TO ORBAN'S DOWNFALL?

Orban, during the 16-year rule of the Fidesz party, transformed his country into what he described in 2014 as an "illiberal democracy".

Using the decisive mandate Orban got in 2010, he practically re-wrote the country's Constitution. Orban reportedly restructured the judiciary to funnel party loyalists to the bench. He is also alleged to have divided legislative districts in such a way that his members won elections. He also pushed Hungary's media companies to be sold to tycoons allied with Orban, which critics said, reduced the country's editorial independence.

Orban's hard anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ-rights stance also made him a flag-bearing hero for populist conservatives across Europe and the US' MAGA movement. So much so, that US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy, JD Vance, to Hungary ahead of the elections. Vance even participated in a rally to support Orban, while promising to use America's "full economic might" to help Hungary so long as Fidesz won.

In addition, despite being a member of the European Union (EU), Orban guided Hungary increasingly towards Russia. This saw Orban refusing to disconnect from Russian oil and gas after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and veto EU legislation allocating aid for Ukraine.

While Orban was seen as a Trump ally, his increasingly pro-Kremlin stance also alienated many voters in traditionally pro-European Hungary.

According to The Economist, it became a decisive issue for many. Just days before the election, Bloomberg published a transcript of a phone call between Orban and Vladimir Putin from October 2025. In it, Orban compared himself to a mouse offering to free the caged Russian lion, pledging to help "in any way". Similarly, Hungary's foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, was reported by The Washington Post as informed Moscow of confidential information discussed at European Union meetings for years. And, a Warsaw-based investigative outlet leaked audio recordings suggesting Hungary might have been assisting Russia in efforts to undermine European Union (EU) sanctions.

Magyar's Tisza party, which positioned itself as firmly pro-European, tapped into this resentment with a simple, resonant slogan that first appeared in the 1956 Hungarian anti-Communist revolution and that later gained widespread traction, "Ruszkik haza", meaning "Russians, go home".

HOW CORRUPTION ALSO PLAYED A ROLE IN ORBAN'S DOWNFALL

Another major factor behind Viktor Orban's heavy electoral defeat was Hungary's deep-rooted corruption.

Hungary has consistently ranked as the most corrupt country in the European Union, according to Transparency 's Corruption Perceptions Index. In 2025, Hungary was again placed last among EU members.

Hungary also recorded the lowest relative household wealth in the EU that year. As one longtime Fidesz supporter who switched to Tisza told The Economist that corruption in Hungary was "unbearable".

The economy added to voters' discontent. The Conversation noted that inflation and economic stagnation worsened after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — problems that Peter Magyar effectively highlighted on the campaign trail.

While some are now blaming the pre-poll parachuting of JD Vance for Orban's defeat, and others are rejoicing Magyar's victory, the reason why the outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister lost is a mix of the factors we discussed. And, Orban's former aide Magyar seized the opportunity and the situation to oust his former boss.

- Ends