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Hungarian election

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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


 
Posted : 13/04/2026 8:22 pm
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Hungary's restoration of relations with the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) will have PM Orban running for a one-way ticket out.
EPPO runs fraud and corruption investigations affecting EU finances, but there will be a few weeks grace that can be spent over a red-hot shredding machine while the new PM takes his seat.

Denmark and Ireland also opted out of EPPO, but corruption isn't such an issue there with robust domestic mechanisms in place.


 
Posted : 15/04/2026 12:20 pm
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Posted by: blokeuptheroad
He does that. Pleased to see no one rising to it.
He's another one with all the keen grasp of reality that trump has. There's nothing to "rise" to.
Posted by: maccruiskeen

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

I have my doubts that he'll keep going until the next election. Either he'll "resign" or fall out of a window.

 

 


 
Posted : 15/04/2026 12:48 pm
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Posted by: timba

Tisza manifesto is remarkably light on Ukraine, basically neither bullets nor boots.

They don't need to provide either of those things and I don't think many people were expecting it.  They just need to stop being Putin's cuckoo in the EU nest and to stop torpedoing wider European support for Ukraine through the use of veto.  From Maygar's statements so far, it looks like those things will happen. 


 
Posted : 15/04/2026 1:01 pm
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My wife is Hungarian.  She is politically on the same page as me on most things but has a massive blindspot for Victor Orban.

Orban gave the Hungarian diaspora automatic citizenship of Hungary - my wife was born in a part of Romania that's an ethnic Hungarian enclave - so this was a massive deal for her and her family.  She basically turned a blind eye to anything negative about Orban becuase he was willing to stand up for ethnic Hungarians in other countries.

Time will tell whether Magyar (its pronouced similar to Ma-djor rather then Mag-Yar BTW) can live up to the expectations of the people partying on the Danube.

He very much ran on a platform of not being Orban, resetting Hungary's relationship with the EU and sorting out domestic issues like the cost of living.  He's not really spoke much about international issue such as Ukraine or broader social politics for fear of alienating older voters.


 
Posted : 15/04/2026 3:45 pm
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Posted by: richmtb

He's not really spoke much about international issue such as Ukraine or broader social politics for fear of alienating older voters.

He is now.  This was originally posted by @piemonster on the Ukraine thread


 
Posted : 15/04/2026 3:58 pm
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Posted by: blokeuptheroad

Posted by: timba

Tisza manifesto is remarkably light on Ukraine, basically neither bullets nor boots.

(They don't need to provide either of those things and I don't think many people were expecting it. They just need to stop being Putin's cuckoo in the EU nest and to stop torpedoing wider European support for Ukraine through the use of veto.)

From Maygar's statements so far, it looks like those things will happen. 

I agree. The fact that the manifesto is light is a continuation of my point which suggests that was a fence-sitting exercise for successful domestic election prospects. 

 


 
Posted : 15/04/2026 6:47 pm
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I see Magyar is inviting Netanyahu to visit. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. 


 
Posted : 17/04/2026 5:49 pm
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I don't necessarily think that it's a dangerously radical move for the newly elected PM of a country with one of the largest Jewish population per capita in Eastern Europe to speak with the PM of Israel, regardless of who it is. As for whether Netayahu attends the 70th Celebration of the Hungarian Uprising (the reason for the invite) remains to be seen as Magyar has indicated he's likely to apply to re-join the ICC as soon as he can. 


 
Posted : 18/04/2026 11:29 am
 DrJ
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It’s around 0.5% - not that different to the UK.  Not really a reason to make it a priority. 


 
Posted : 18/04/2026 5:14 pm
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Posted by: richmtb

Orban gave the Hungarian diaspora automatic citizenship of Hungary - my wife was born in a part of Romania that's an ethnic Hungarian enclave - so this was a massive deal for her and her family.  She basically turned a blind eye to anything negative about Orban becuase he was willing to stand up for ethnic Hungarians in other countries.

...

He's not really spoke much about international issue such as Ukraine or broader social politics for fear of alienating older voters.

Ethnic diaspora in Western Ukraine (the few that are left) have been feeling marginalised by Ukrainian nationalists, especially when Hungarian language and culture got bracketed with Russian during de-Russification and de-Sovietisation campaigns. Orban liked to stir the pot in Western Ukraine on this pretext, but admittedly it was a strategic mistake by Kyiv and unfair to them.

Hungarians have a bit of a siege mentality and some have a touch of resentment that ethnic Hungarians live in neighbouring states at all - Treaty of Trianon...

This is also part of the reason why Magyar is promising to be more pro-EU than pro-Ukrainian.

 


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 3:04 pm
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Posted by: DrJ

It’s around 0.5% - not that different to the UK.  Not really a reason to make it a priority. 

Well, that's odd. In 1930, Jews were just over 5% of the population of Hungary. There used to be a similar number in Czechoslovakia, twice as many in Romania, and eight times as many in Poland.

Now, Hungary and Ukraine each have about 0.3% of their population as Jewish. None of their neighbours are anywhere close.

Did something major happen in the meantime to cause this?

 


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 3:14 pm
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Posted by: politecameraaction

Did something major happen in the meantime to cause this?

Obviously. Your point being ?


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 3:36 pm
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Posted by: DrJ

It’s around 0.5% - not that different to the UK.  Not really a reason to make it a priority. 

About 1% of the current population of Israel has paternal ancestry from Hungary/Czech Republic/Slovakia (combined %) which probably equates to tens of thousands with Hungarian heritage, particularly if they factor female ancestry in as well.

I think that diplomatic links would be quite normal


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 5:32 pm
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Posted by: DrJ

Posted by: politecameraaction

Did something major happen in the meantime to cause this?

Obviously. Your point being ?

Hungary is a monoculture because they lost imperial lands after WW1, and because they murdered and expelled most of the other ethnic minorities during and after WW2. In that context, saying "yeah, well, there's barely any more Jews in Hungary than in the multicultural, mass immigration UK, so I can't see why it's relevant" is pretty silly.

 


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 5:56 pm
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Posted by: timba

I think that diplomatic links would be quite normal

Diplomatic links would be normal but making a priority of diplomatic links with a country with a tiny fraction of the population being linked, especially where that country is led by a wanted war crimes suspect, is not. 


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 6:00 pm
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Posted by: politecameraaction

Hungary is a monoculture because they lost imperial lands after WW1, and because they murdered and expelled most of the other ethnic minorities during and after WW2. In that context, saying "yeah, well, there's barely any more Jews in Hungary than in the multicultural, mass immigration UK, so I can't see why it's relevant" is pretty silly.

Did that make sense when you typed it out? Is there some reason why the Hungarian PM should be fashioning his foreign policy according to some prior ethnic mix of the population?


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 6:04 pm
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Posted by: politecameraaction

Hungarians have a bit of a siege mentality and some have a touch of resentment that ethnic Hungarians live in neighbouring states at all - Treaty of Trianon...

Interesting- and I thought the Middle East was complicated 😵‍💫


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 6:09 pm
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Posted by: DrJ

Posted by: timba

I think that diplomatic links would be quite normal

Diplomatic links would be normal but making a priority of diplomatic links with a country with a tiny fraction of the population being linked, especially where that country is led by a wanted war crimes suspect, is not. 

$700mn in bilateral trade. 150 Israeli-owned companies operate in Hungary. Defence contracts... the list goes on

 


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 6:14 pm
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Posted by: timba

$700mn in bilateral trade. 150 Israeli-owned companies operate in Hungary. Defence contracts... the list goes on

That’s a separate point to the one you made earlier but the issue is whether Magyar wants to continue Orban’s role as a key collaborator with Netanyahu  The indication is that he does.


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 6:23 pm
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Posted by: DrJ

I see Magyar is inviting Netanyahu to visit. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. 

Its a bit confusing.

On the one hand its reported Netanyahu has been invited. 

On the other hand today Magyar is reported as saying they are rejoining the ICC (or possibly not complete leaving) and would carry out the ICC arrest warrants.


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 6:30 pm
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Posted by: DrJ

Is there some reason why the Hungarian PM should be fashioning his foreign policy according to some prior ethnic mix of the population?

🤦‍♂️ 

 


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 6:48 pm
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Posted by: dissonance

On the other hand today Magyar is reported as saying they are rejoining the ICC (or possibly not complete leaving) and would carry out the ICC arrest warrants.

Also just seen a report that Magyar has threatened to arrest Bibi if he goes to Hungary. Who knows?


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 9:34 pm
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Its a bit confusing.

On the one hand its reported Netanyahu has been invited. 

On the other hand today Magyar is reported as saying they are rejoining the ICC (or possibly not complete leaving) and would carry out the ICC arrest warrants.

Sounds a bit like Operation Flagship


 
Posted : 20/04/2026 10:34 pm
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Posted by: DrJ

I see Magyar is inviting Netanyahu to visit. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. 

Screenshot_20260422-205627.png

 


 
Posted : 22/04/2026 9:00 pm
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