Viktor Orbán's Defeat is Giving Democracies Around the World Hope

Many observers believed that former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was unstoppable.

Until this spring when Péter Magyar—leader of the Tisza party—defeated Orbán's Fidesz party by winning a two-thirds majority in the 2026 national election.

Orbán, a global figure known for his far-right political ideologies, had ruled Hungary with iron grip for the past 16 years.

Dr. Steven Jobbitt (left) has travelled extensively in Europe and lived a total of four years in Hungary. "Just after high school in 1989, I visited Hungary and fell in love with it. Later, I took time off as an undergraduate student at Lakehead and taught English there. I also did my PhD research in Hungary in 2002-03." He's fluent in Hungarian and is the former managing editor of Hungarian Studies Review.

Lakehead history professor Dr. Steven Jobbitt is an expert in Eastern and Central European history and radical right-wing identity formation in Hungary, so we asked him for his thoughts about the historic ousting of Orbán.

What motivated far-right populism in Hungary?

We need to look back to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe to understand the surge in populism.

Throughout the 1990s former state-owned industries, like oil and gas, were privatized and Hungary's assets were sold off, mostly to foreign investors.

The entire country was treated like it was a fire sale.

Hungary's shift to free-market capitalism was necessary to join the European Union (EU) and to receive loans and support. Unfortunately, this resulted in the birth of a small class of Hungarian oligarchs who grew richer while most Hungarians grew poorer.

One way the populist right captured the political imaginations of the people was by appealing to their resentment of the EU. Hungarians felt the West was exploiting them.

"When Orbán was first elected in 2010, Hungary became the canary in the coal mine for liberal democracy," Dr. Jobbitt says. "It was the first in a wave of formerly democratic governments that rejected the idea of universal human rights and equality." Above, The Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest sits on the edge of the Danube River. Photo Credit: Unsplash/Ervin Lukacs

Who were Viktor Orbán's supporters?

People in rural areas and villages, especially in the deindustrialized and impoverished northeast, gravitated to Orbán.

They felt their economic hardship was worsened by being part of the European Union and
by increased immigration.

Many on the conservative right felt that the EU was imposing liberalism upon them and attacking Christianity and families. They were opposed to a greater recognition of women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights.

Orbán told Hungarians: "We don't believe that everyone is equal, there should be leaders and followers."

"Viktor Orbán positioned Hungary as a protector of the West from Islam and from immigrants," Dr. Jobbitt explains. "His supporters saw themselves as more authentic and moral than other European nations. They endorsed the rewriting of the constitution in 2012 to declare Hungary a fundamentally Christian nation that believed in traditional gender roles." Photo Credit: Unsplash/Zsolt Cserna

But it would be a simplification to see Orbán's support as falling entirely along urban-rural lines.

Fidesz had significant backing from the educated middle class, who may have thought Fidesz offered the best hope for Hungary to have a meaningful position within Europe.

Fidesz also attracted male professionals who felt their power and prestige were slipping away. Even so, there were pro-Fidesz women, including young women.

Why there was significant middle-class support for Orbán remains an important question to study.

What was life like under the Fidesz regime?

Fidesz took control of the media, the judiciary, the government, and the economy.

Freedom of speech was suppressed and corruption levels skyrocketed, creating a mafia state.

Human rights activists were afraid to speak out and criticize the government. Professors and intellectuals with university positions feared they would lose their funding, which did happen, or be fired.

By the end of Orbán's first term in 2014, Hungarians had become cynical. They believed that the future was going to be the same, or even worse, than the present.

What led Viktor Orbán Orban to lose power?

There was increasing dissatisfaction with state corruption and the handful of people controlling all aspects of society.

This hadn't been a problem as long as middle and working-class Hungarians were doing okay financially. But over the past couple of years, Hungarians were feeling it in their pocketbooks. Their inflation rate was the highest in the EU.

Péter Magyar, a Fidesz party member, grew disenchanted with Orbán. He defected from Fidesz to become the leader of a small, essentially defunct, opposition party called Tisza.

In an interview on an anti-government YouTube channel, Magyar gave a scathing critique of Fidesz. Part of his critique focused on his outrage that a children's home director convicted of sexually abusing minors had been pardoned by Fidesz. Many Hungarians were similarly angered by the pardon.

How did Péter Magyar oust Viktor Orbán?

After taking over Tisza, Magyar ran a sustained grassroots campaign promising fairness and an end to corruption and wealth inequality.

He went into the countryside, which had been Orbán's stronghold, and held up to six or seven rallies a day. Magyar made a point of visiting the smallest villages and letting the people voice their frustrations.

Previously, left-wing and centrist parties had only campaigned in the cities. This was a mistake. People in rural areas were really feeling the pinch of globalization and the effects of Orbán's corruption.

What does Péter Magyar hope to achieve?

Magyar is a pro-European conservative who wants to restore democratic institutions.

He has an ambitious agenda. One of his first acts has been the creation of the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office. It will investigate corruption among Hungarian elites and regain illegally acquired wealth.

Magyar has also committed to stopping oppression and standing up for people who'd been targeted by the previous regime.

How have Hungarians responded to Orbán's removal from office?

The defeat has energized the Hungarian people. There was widespread euphoria in both the cities and the countryside following the election.

It reminded me of the fall of communism when people were dancing in the streets.

Magyar isn't anti-capitalist, however, so unless he finds a way to fix wealth inequality, Fidesz will be able to reignite the culture wars it fed off.

Victor Orbán's model of "illiberal democracy" was emulated by countries like Poland and Brazil and by populist movements like MAGA in the United States and BREXIT in the United Kingdom. "Many of the people in Hungary that I was in contact with, right up until the week of the April 2026 election, didn't believe Orbán could be beaten," Dr. Jobbitt says. Above, the town of Tapolca in the Hungarian countryside. Photo Credit: Unsplash/Matze Bob

What does Hungary's regime change mean for far-right populism in Europe and abroad?

Orbán's fall from grace shows us that authoritarian regimes can be voted out by connecting with a country's disaffected people.

But you have to show them that voting for someone like Orbán or Trump is voting against their interests. You can't just focus on big cities.

Magyar has put extremely competent people in charge of his ministries, but four years isn't a long time to turn around a fundamentally transformed government.

Although the radical right could take power again, Orbán's defeat is inspiring people to fight against illiberalism.