Historic Victory for Magyar’s Tisza Party

Péter Magyar, a 45-year-old former party insider, has delivered a stunning electoral victory in Hungary, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule with a landslide that has left the former prime minister’s Fidesz party with only 55 seats, according to BBC news.

Magyar stood in a square beside the River Danube in Budapest, addressing a crowd of cheering supporters as the preliminary results showed his Tisza party on course for an extraordinary 138 seats. ‘We did it,’ Magyar told the crowd. ‘Together we overthrew the Hungarian regime.’

The results, based on more than 98% of the votes counted, show the Tisza party gaining a two-thirds majority, which Magyar has stated will allow him to make constitutional changes to reverse Orbán-era policies and tackle corruption. ‘Never before in the history of democratic Hungary have so many people voted, and no single party has ever received such a strong mandate,’ he said on Sunday night, after a record 79.5% of the electorate turned out to vote.

Orbán’s Rule Ends in Minutes

Viktor Orbán’s rule. Built on four successive election victories and sweeping majorities, ended in a matter of minutes as the results poured in. Magyar’s supporters waited in the square on the Buda side of the Danube, while Magyar posted a message on Facebook: ‘Viktor Orbán just called me on the phone and congratulated us on our victory.’

As the news spread, Orbán appeared at a conference center a mile down-river on the other side of the Danube, surrounded by his glum-looking Fidesz party colleagues. ‘The result of the election is clear and painful,’ he told them, thanking the estimated 2.5 million Hungarians who stuck by him. ‘The days ahead of us are for us to heal our wounds.’

The Tisza party’s victory has been hailed as a historic moment in Hungary’s political landscape, with Magyar promising to reverse changes to education and health, tackle corruption, and restore the independence of the judiciary. ‘We need to hope for something better, which he promises,’ said Ágnes, a lawyer who supported Magyar’s campaign.

Magyar’s Campaign and Future Plans

Magyar’s campaign focused on addressing the issues of cronyism and corruption that had become endemic under Orbán’s rule. His movement took him around villages, town squares, and cities, rallying Hungarians who had had enough of the existing regime. ‘We are at a point where we need to hope for something better,’ said Ágnes, a lawyer who supported Magyar’s campaign.

Magyar has also promised to change pro-Orbán state media, including the M1 TV channel, which has until now slavishly followed the party line. ‘Russians go home,’ Magyar supporters chanted, as the next Hungarian prime minister promised better relations with the European Union.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk was among the first of many European leaders to welcome Magyar’s ‘glorious victory,’ adding in Hungarian ‘Ruszkik Haza’ – Russians go home. Magyar has pledged that his first trip abroad as prime minister would be to Warsaw, to reinforce Hungary’s 1,000-year friendship with Poland.

Magyar has also promised to travel to Brussels, where he aims to persuade the European Commission to unlock as much as €17bn in funds frozen over failures to tackle corruption and maintain independence in the judiciary. ‘We need to hope for something better, which he promises,’ said Ágnes, a lawyer who supported Magyar’s campaign.

Magyar has momentum after a marathon campaign that took in up to seven speeches a day and energised big crowds across the country. His defeated rival, Orbán, sounded tired and jaded in his final campaign speech on Saturday night, as if he knew what was coming.

Orbán, now 62, has not resigned as party leader, and without him it is difficult to imagine what will happen to Fidesz. For now, he will continue to lead Hungary in a caretaker role, while he and his party lick their wounds.