| |
Hungary PM Orban Ousted AFter 16 Years 04/13 06:15
Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbn
after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global
far-right movement that he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger in a
bombshell election result with global repercussions.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) -- Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving
Prime Minister Viktor Orbn after 16 years in power, rejecting the
authoritarian policies and global far-right movement that he embodied in favor
of a pro-European challenger in a bombshell election result with global
repercussions.
It was a stunning blow for Orbn -- a close ally of both U.S. President
Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin -- who quickly conceded
defeat after what he called a "painful" election result. U.S. Vice President JD
Vance had made a visit to Hungary just days earlier, meant to help push Orbn
over the finish line.
Election victor Pter Magyar, a former Orbn loyalist who campaigned against
corruption and on everyday issues like health care and public transport, has
pledged to rebuild Hungary's relationships with the European Union and NATO --
ties that frayed under Orbn. European leaders quickly congratulated Magyar.
His victory was expected to transform political dynamics within the EU,
where Orbn had upended the bloc by frequently vetoing key decisions, prompting
concerns he sought to break it up from the inside.
It will also reverberate among far-right movements around the world, which
have viewed Orbn as a beacon for how nationalist populism can be used to wage
culture wars and leverage state power to undermine opponents.
It's not yet clear whether Magyar's Tisza party will have the two-thirds
majority in parliament, which would give it the numbers needed for major
changes in legislation. With 93% of the vote counted, it had more than 53%
support to 37% for Orbn's governing Fidesz party and looked set to win 94 of
Hungary's 106 voting districts.
"I congratulated the victorious party," Orban told followers. "We are going
to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition."
Jubilation erupted along the Danube
In a speech to tens of thousands of jubilant supporters at a victory party
along the Danube River, Magyar said his voters had rewritten Hungarian history.
"Tonight, truth prevailed over lies. Today, we won because Hungarians didn't
ask what their homeland could do for them -- they asked what they could do for
their homeland. You found the answer. And you followed through," he said.
On the streets of Budapest, drivers blared car horns and cranked up
anti-government songs while people marching in the streets chanted and screamed.
Many revelers chanted "Ruszkik haza!" or "Russians go home!" -- a phrase
used widely during Hungary's 1956 anti-Soviet revolution, and which had gained
increasing currency amid Orbn's drift toward Moscow.
Turnout in the election was nearly 80%, according to the National Election
Office, a record number in any vote in Hungary's post-Communist history.
'Choice between East or West'
Orbn, the EU's longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists,
traveled a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to
the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right.
The EU will be waiting to see how Magyar changes Hungary's approach to
Ukraine. Orbn repeatedly frustrated EU efforts to support the neighboring
country in its war against Russia's full-scale invasion, while cultivating
close ties to Putin and refusing to end Hungary's dependence on Russian energy
imports.
Recent revelations have shown a top member of Orbn's government frequently
shared the contents of EU discussions with Moscow, raising accusations that
Hungary was acting on Russia's behalf within the bloc.
Members of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement are among those who
see Orbn's government and his Fidesz political party as shining examples of
conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is reviled by
advocates of liberal democracy and the rule of law.
In Budapest, Marcell Mehringer, 21, said he was voting "primarily so that
Hungary will finally be a so-called European country, and so that young people,
and really everyone, will do their fundamental civic duty to unite this nation
a bit and to breakdown these boundaries borne of hatred."
Strained relationship with the EU
During his 16 years as prime minister, Orbn launched harsh crackdowns on
minority rights and media freedoms, subverted many of Hungary's institutions
and been accused of siphoning large sums of money into the coffers of his
allied business elite, an allegation he denies.
He also heavily strained Hungary's relationship with the EU. Although
Hungary is one of the smaller EU countries, with a population of 9.5 million,
Orbn has repeatedly used his veto to block decisions that require unanimity.
Most recently, he blocked a 90-billion euro ($104 billion) EU loan to
Ukraine, prompting his partners to accuse him of hijacking the critical aid.
His challenger came from the inside
Magyar, 45, rapidly rose to become Orbn's most serious challenger.
A former insider within Orbn's Fidesz, Magyar broke with the party in 2024
and quickly formed Tisza. Since then, he has toured Hungary relentlessly,
holding rallies in settlements big and small in a campaign blitz that recently
had him visiting up to six towns daily.
In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month, Magyar said
the election will be a "referendum" on whether Hungary continues on its drift
toward Russia under Orbn, or can retake its place among the democratic
societies of Europe.
Tisza is a member of the European People's Party, the mainstream,
center-right political family with leaders governing 12 of the EU's 27 nations.
Uphill election battle
Magyar faced a tough fight. Orbn's control of Hungary's public media, which
he has transformed into a mouthpiece for his party, and vast swaths of the
private media market give him an advantage in spreading his message.
The unilateral transformation of Hungary's electoral system and
gerrymandering of its 106 voting districts by Fidesz also required Tisza to
gain an estimated 5% more votes than Orbn's party to achieve a simple majority.
Additionally, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hungarians in neighboring
countries had the right to vote in Hungarian elections and traditionally have
voted overwhelmingly for Orbn's party.
Russian secret services have plotted to interfere and tip the election in
Orbn's favor, according to numerous media reports including by The Washington
Post. The prime minister, however, accused neighboring Ukraine, as well as
Hungary's allies in the EU, of seeking to interfere in the vote to install a
"pro-Ukraine" government.
|
|
