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Hungarian election
 

Hungarian election

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A few of us will be following this with keen interest I expect, voting today. For a small country (9½ million population) this does have big implications for the future of right wing populism, EU unity, Ukraine, and Russian/US influence in European politics. There's been a record turnout so far, I hope that's a good sign. Orban is very unpopular with younger and urban voters. Rural/older voters are either supportive of him, or prey to patronage issues in Fidez run towns and villages.  

There are so many reasons to hope for a Magyar victory, not least to see Trump and Putin bust a few blood vessels.  I know Magyar has a Fidez background and is far from being a progressive, liberal reformer, but it's a small step in the right direction imo.  I know there are quite a few international electoral observers there, here's hoping it can be as fair as possible in the circumstances.

https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3mjc6yiozgc2y


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 12:26 pm
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If Orban wins the Hungary should leave the EU and NATO. Russia through the back door. The same argument that de Gaulle had used to stop Britain joining and letting the US in. 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 12:42 pm
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I think the EU are holding off on constitutional changes to limit the power of veto. They will be full steam ahead if Orban does win.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 12:46 pm
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As I said on the other thread - my Hungarian colleague thinks this is what will happen. 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 1:00 pm
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Polls closed, a record turnout of around 77%.  No exit polls in Hungary, but a summary of opinion polls over the last few days has TISZA well in the lead. I never trust the polls though and apparently 'shy' FIDEZ voters are a thing like shy tories here!  First results expected to start coming in around 9 or 10 pm.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 7:36 pm
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My mistake, a quarter of votes already counted.  This from the Guardian Hungary Election Live web page.

 

image.png


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 7:57 pm
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This one really interests me, in terms of the direction of Europe as a whole - an Orban victory, whether genuine or after some kind of Jan 6th thing, will mean that the EU and NATO have to rethink  Hungary's involvement in both. A Magyar victory - despite all his many faults - starts to signal that in the most pro-Putin/Trump country in Europe, people are prepared to stand up and face down corrupt right wing parties.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:02 pm
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^^ Regrettably I think this won't effect Farages chances at all though but if it signals a fight back in the EU it's still good news. 

We just have to endure our own MEGA phase in the knowledge that at least Farage can't trigger a global crisis. 

Probably.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:23 pm
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Orban has conceded defeat to Magyar.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:28 pm
Cletus reacted
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Woo hoo!!! Nearly half the votes counted and Magyar now projected to pass the 133 seat 'supermajority' needed to overturn many FIDEZ enacted laws.

image.png

I hope Trump chokes on a burger when he sees this.  


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:29 pm
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Yes! Fantastic news! I'm amazed Oban has conceded. 

The endorsement from Vance and Trump were the kiss of death! Haha!😂

 

Fantastic news for Ukraine.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:34 pm
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Posted by: Poopscoop

We just have to endure our own MEGA phase in the knowledge that at least Farage can't trigger a global crisis. 

I'm not so pessimistic, can't see him getting into power as things currently stand.

Anyway, fantastic news from Hungary, though only time will tell if the actions meet the expectations

 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:36 pm
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Ha ha and after an “opinion” piece in the Telegraph saying that “leftists” didn’t understand how popular Orban really was…


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:37 pm
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Posted by: Kramer

Ha ha and after an “opinion” piece in the Telegraph saying that “leftists” didn’t understand how popular Orban really was…

Never ceases to amaze me how the Telegraph are consistently so wrong on everything!


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:41 pm
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No more objection to joining Ukraine war then? 🙄 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:42 pm
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there he is!


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:43 pm
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Who would want a morale boosting visit and endorsement from JD Vance now? 🤣 Here's hoping he turns up at Reform's HQ soon!  With his Iran negotiation failure, he's having quite the week.  Praying for an expletive laden 3am rage tweet from Mar-a-lago telling him he's fired.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:46 pm
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3/4 majority 🥳🥳🥳🥳


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:46 pm
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Another one in the eye for the Putin/Trump axis 🤣🤣🤣


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:49 pm
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Posted by: blokeuptheroad

Praying for an expletive laden 3am rage tweet from Mar-a-lago telling him he's fired.

 

at it happens TIL, Vance is the one person Trump *cant* fire. His mandate is from 'the people'. 

 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:51 pm
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Posted by: Poopscoop

Fantastic news for Ukraine.

10 years (Ukraine war over).

Then WWIII.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:55 pm
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Posted by: dakuan

at it happens TIL, Vance is the one person Trump *cant* fire. His mandate is from 'the people'. 

 

Oh yeah, I knew that!  😊 I'll settle for some belittling, ridicule and undermining then.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:56 pm
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Posted by: blokeuptheroad

Who would want a morale boosting visit and endorsement from JD Vance now?

I would!

Please pop over to the UK for the local elections! Whilst minor as a advertising campaign says "every little helps".

DFS has continual sales so you will be sure to find the sofa of your dreams if that will swing the deal.

For Hungary considering Magyar's history I cant say I am completely optimistic.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 8:58 pm
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Posted by: dissonance

Hungary considering Magyar's history I cant say I am completely optimistic.

Agreed.  As I said in the OP Magyar has baggage, but he was elected on a mandate of better relations with the EU and rejecting Russian influence.  If those things happen, Hungary and Europe will benefit.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 9:04 pm
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chewkw

10 years (Ukraine war over).

Then WWIII.

Tell me tomorrows winning lottery numbers then I might believe you.😉

 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 9:06 pm
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It was Vance wot won it!


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 9:19 pm
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Apparently one of the things about being in the right wing bubble is that they just don’t realise quite how unpopular Trump is. Hence the frantic U-turning a few weeks back.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 9:21 pm
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I bet trump is raging, if I was Cuba I'd be keeping my head down....


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 9:25 pm
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Posted by: Poopscoop

Tell me tomorrows winning lottery numbers then I might believe you.😉

Lottery numbers are much more difficult to predict than the current world event.  

 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 9:26 pm
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MAGA love Orban, Steve Bannon once called him "Trump, before Trump".  Here's hoping this toppling of one corrupt, Putin worshiping, far right bellend gives much needed hope to US voters that they can topple another.


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 9:34 pm
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image.png


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 9:39 pm
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Really hope this is the turning point against populist fascism. And one in the eye to the Russian terrorist state. Nice one  VP:JD. 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 10:03 pm
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poor matt Goodwin, he was getting £10k a week from orban

 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 10:11 pm
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Vance will be collecting his US equivalent of a P45 this week. Hungary and Iran fails... hee hee


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 10:25 pm
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Amazing good many UK patriots are online bemoaning Oban's loss... It seems they only like democracy when it goes their way...

I've been offering thoughts and prayers in their time if need obviously. 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 11:53 pm
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I wonder what will happen to the 2 billion Victor paid to join Trump's Bored of Peas. 


 
Posted : 12/04/2026 11:54 pm
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Posted by: blokeuptheroad

I hope Trump chokes on a burger when he sees this.  

Preferably an aneurysm while he’s sat on the bog. 


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 12:28 am
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Posted by: CountZero

Posted by: blokeuptheroad

I hope Trump chokes on a burger when he sees this.  

Preferably an aneurysm while he’s sat on the bog. 

 

 

Nah, far too private.  I want to see him remembered for having a massive stroke live onstage as his bowels and bladder explode in a shit n” piss shower. 

 


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 2:15 am
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So, I've only followed the election on here and on the BBC but it's all saved a bit straightforward. 

No subterfuge, no claims of EU interference etc, just vote and he's gone. 

 

Did I miss something?


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 7:33 am
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Massive turnout, make it untenable to cry schenanigans. Orban also looked tired the whole campaign imo


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:01 am
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Posted by: dooosuk

So, I've only followed the election on here and on the BBC but it's all saved a bit straightforward. 

No subterfuge, no claims of EU interference etc, just vote and he's gone. 

 

Did I miss something?

 

Looks that way.  I was amazed by how quickly the votes were counted, compared to a GE here.  Orban conceded defeat on the evening the polls closed, just a few hours after the last vote cast.  They have quite a complex electoral system too, with one vote for a regional representative and one national PR vote for a party.

I expect Orban and his cronies will start to claim there were issues over the next few days, probably with Trump and Putin wading in.  Hungary is classed as a 'democratic autocracy', elections are heavily weighted in favour of the incumbent because Orban had appointed all the senior judges, electoral officials and other non-political figures (see why Donny loves him). So for Maygar to win a 'super majority' on such an unfair playing field is pretty amazing and it will be hard to credibly claim any electoral wrongdoing by him I reckon.

The super majority is important. A simple majority would have made Maygar PM, but prevented him from removing FIDEZ appointees from positions of power and influence and from changing the constitution back to a more fully democratic one. He needed a two thirds majority to do all that. Which he got.

It will be interesting to see what he does on Ukraine.  Orban was using Hungary's EU veto to block a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine, further sanctions on Russia and talks on Ukraine's accession to the EU.  He's no Orban, but Maygar has been very lukewarm on support for Ukraine in the past. Hopefully his anti Russian stance and desire to build bridges with the EU will encourage him to be more supportive!  There's also the small matter of 20 billion euro EU funding for Hungary which was being withheld because of Orban's actions which should now be freed up. 


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:07 am
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Vance will be collecting his US equivalent of a P45 this week. Hungary and Iran fails... hee hee

He's the only person in the Whitehouse Trump can't fire. Everyone else around him is appointed but Vance is elected.


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:29 am
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Posted by: blokeuptheroad

Posted by: dissonance

Hungary considering Magyar's history I cant say I am completely optimistic.

Agreed.  As I said in the OP Magyar has baggage, but he was elected on a mandate of better relations with the EU and rejecting Russian influence.  If those things happen, Hungary and Europe will benefit.

There's a pile of Orban baggage to clear out first. His loyalists run law courts and councils at both state and local levels and can veto all manner of state functions and changes.

Pro-Orban folk have displayed incredible business acumen and luck over the years. His family are millionaires and his best mate from school, Lőrinc Mészáros, who started out as a gas-fitter is now the richest person in Hungary.

Donald Tusk is still resetting institutions in Poland more than two years after PiS vacated the PM-ship, while PiS retains the Presidency.

The President of Hungary, Tamás Sulyok, was nominated by the Fidesz-KDNP alliance, but seems to be more apolitical than Karol Nawrocki in Poland.


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:36 am
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lols

While Orban has presided over a dire economy at home hes been pumping millions into far right networks across Europe, Reforms very own Matt Goodwin has done very well out of it, in fact he was due to speak at an Orban funded event this week 


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:38 am
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Ukraine doesn’t need hungarys support, it just needs them to stop the 90 billion veto and European ambitions.


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:39 am
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Posted by: dakuan

Massive turnout, make it untenable to cry schenanigans. Orban also looked tired the whole campaign imo

 

That's my reading too. It looks like there was plenty of effort put into trying to sway opinions via propaganda/direct influence efforts by Russia and the US. But the turnout and result being too great to deny. I've seen plenty of claims about Magyar that upon trying to verify I actually can't, even when using Chrome compared to Duck Duck Go or going way off the bottom of search results

 

I mean, we've actually got someone on the "this means they're joining the Ukraine war" Russian narrative on this forum.

 

Who knows if it's a high water mark or not for right wing populism in Hungary, another cycle may be in the future, but for now it's certainly them taking a hard swift kick to the balls 

 

 


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:45 am
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Posted by: piemonster

I mean, we've actually got someone on the "this means they're joining the Ukraine war" Russian narrative on this forum.

He does that. Pleased to see no one rising to it.


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:51 am
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Incredible result.  


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 9:02 am
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Posted by: futonrivercrossing

Ukraine doesn’t need hungarys support, it just needs them to stop the 90 billion veto and European ambitions.

That's going to take time. The new Parliament won't sit until next month and then the work begins. Ukraine's finances are on borrowed time although IMF funds are slowly being released with reform in Ukraine


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 9:14 am
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Posted by: blokeuptheroad

I was amazed by how quickly the votes were counted, compared to a GE here. 

Only 9.5M population. About the size of London, no?


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 9:22 am
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Posted by: timba

Posted by: futonrivercrossing

Ukraine doesn’t need hungarys support, it just needs them to stop the 90 billion veto and European ambitions.

That's going to take time. The new Parliament won't sit until next month and then the work begins. Ukraine's finances are on borrowed time although IMF funds are slowly being released with reform in Ukraine

 

There's also Fico and Poland has it's challenges too.

 


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 9:28 am
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Posted by: piemonster

Posted by: timba

Posted by: futonrivercrossing

Ukraine doesn’t need hungarys support, it just needs them to stop the 90 billion veto and European ambitions.

That's going to take time. The new Parliament won't sit until next month and then the work begins. Ukraine's finances are on borrowed time although IMF funds are slowly being released with reform in Ukraine

There's also Fico and Poland has it's challenges too.

Yes, absolutely, although I think that Fico will fold.

PM Tusk is pro-Ukraine, pro-Europe, but faces internal challenges as you say. 

The EU holds a chunk of €€€ ear-marked for Hungary, as BUTR said, some of which will expire in August.

I believe that Tisza MEPs abstained from the €90bn vote in Europe (I can't find the figures) which suggests that was a fence-sitting exercise for successful domestic election prospects while the Tisza manifesto is remarkably light on Ukraine, basically neither bullets nor boots.

Hungary isn't contributing to the €90bn so they'll agree to the loan being paid, demonstrating commitment to the EU and unlocking their €€€. But who knows?


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 9:42 am
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cautiously optimistic, but when countries that have a corruption problem change governments, the new lot often take it as 'their turn' to get on the grift rather than to fix things


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 9:49 am
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If anybody is interested jon worth on bluesky sat in on Matt Goodwin's chat in Hungary this afternoon, a huge audience for the failed Reform candidate for Denton, of 18 people apparently. Filling seats like he he filled those ballots.


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 6:22 pm
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Posted by: white101

If anybody is interested jon worth on bluesky sat in on Matt Goodwin's chat in Hungary this afternoon, a huge audience for the failed Reform candidate for Denton, of 18 people apparently. Filling seats like he he filled those ballots.

And asked Goodwin/Badloss awkward questions about his funding from dodgy Orban "academic foundations", and of course didn't get a straight answer

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E7OP4bT4ZLs


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:22 pm