Hungary: Developments under Viktor Orbán and the 2026 parliamentary election

Orbán’s Fidesz party was defeated at the election on 12 April 2026 by Péter Magyar’s Tisza party, which won a two-thirds majority in parliament. A Magyar-led government is expected to take office in May.

Hungary under Orbán

In office from 2010 to 2026, Orbán and his Fidesz-led government were criticised by domestic opponents and international bodies for taking Hungary in an authoritarian direction, with Orbán himself declaring in 2014 that his government was building an “illiberal” state. In September 2022, a European Parliament report said that Hungary can no longer be considered a full democracy and labelled it an elected autocracy.

Fidesz, in alliance with the smaller Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP), held a two-thirds majority in Hungary’s National Assembly in this period, enabling them to make changes to the constitution that have brought international criticism. Controversial legislation adopted under Orbán brought Hungary into conflict with the EU, with the European Commission taking legal action against Hungary on several occasions. This included action in relation to judicial reforms, restrictions on civil society organisations and the refusal to implement EU migration policies.

The Orbán government initially said judicial and constitutional reforms were needed for Hungary to completely eradicate the legacy of communism. It also emphasised the importance of “traditional” family relationships and the need to protect national sovereignty and combat “foreign” interference in Hungary’s affairs.

The Orbán government ran information campaigns claiming that Brussels is forcing it to take in migrants, and also targeted the activities of George Soros, the Hungarian-born businessman and philanthropist, accusing him of supporting organisations enabling mass migration into Hungary. Legislation and government campaigns against Soros led to organisations linked to him closing their operations in Hungary.

Ongoing EU legal proceedings against Hungary in 2026 included actions against the 2021 law prohibiting the promotion of positive images of homosexuality to minors, and the 2023 Sovereignty Law empowering investigations against individuals and organisations deemed to be pursuing a foreign interest.

EU rule of law mechanisms

In September 2018 the European Parliament requested that the EU trigger a mechanism to determine that Hungary is in breach of core EU values. In 2022, the European Commission also triggered a new conditionality mechanism in the EU budget against Hungary, making the release of EU funds allocated to Hungary conditional on reforms to strengthen the rule of law. This led to the Commission blocking the release of EU cohesion funding and Hungary’s funding allocation under the EU’s post-covid recovery programme. Some funds have been released since 2022, partly to prevent Hungary vetoing EU decisions in other areas, including aid to Ukraine. Funding under the EU Erasmus+ youth exchange and Horizon Europe research programme has also been blocked.

There have been several judgments by the Court of the Justice of the EU (CJEU) against Hungary. In June 2024 the CJEU imposed financial penalties, including an ongoing daily fine, on Hungary for non-compliance with a 2020 judgment on Hungary’s failure to comply with EU asylum rules.

Hungary, Russia and Ukraine

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Orbán government maintained friendly relations with Russia while a previously tense relationship with Ukraine became increasingly strained. Hungary held up the adoption of EU sanctions packages against Russia and aid packages for Ukraine and secured an exemption from sanctions on Russian oil. Orbán opposed Ukraine’s potential accession to the EU. In the parliamentary elections of 2022 and 2026, Orbán accused the EU and political opponents of wanting to drag Hungary into the Ukraine-Russia war.

Orbán’s trip to Moscow to meet President Putin in July 2024 was criticised by EU leaders, and Orbán refused to endorse EU leaders’ statements on Russia and Ukraine in 2025. There were reports in March and April 2026 that Hungary was sharing information from EU meetings with Russia, and that the EU was limiting the flow confidential material to Hungary because of this.

After initially agreeing to an EU €90 billion loan to Ukraine at the end of December 2025, provided Hungary was exempted from the financial obligations, Orbán blocked an EU decision on the loan in early 2026. He said this was because Ukraine has failed to make repairs to a pipeline in Ukraine delivering Russian oil to Hungary which was damaged in a Russian attack. In February 2026, Orbán accused Ukraine of planning to sabotage Hungary’s energy infrastructure, and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy of “co-ordinating efforts to bring a pro-Ukraine government to power in Hungary”.

Orbán lifted the veto on the EU loan following the April 2026 election, after Zelenskyy said the pipeline had been repaired and deliveries could resume.

April 2026 parliamentary election

Orbán’s positions on Ukraine in early 2026 were linked to his campaigning for the parliamentary elections, according to commentators. Polling for the election in early 2026 indicated that the new opposition party, Tisza – Respect and Freedom Party, led by a former government official and Fidesz member, Péter Magyar, held a significant lead in voting intentions.

Fidesz deployed anti-EU and anti-Ukraine slogans in the campaign, and Orbán portrayed Tisza as a “puppet” of the EU. Magyar accused Orbán of seeking the Kremlin’s help to stay in power. The US President Donald Trump said that Orbán had his “total endorsement for re-election”. US Vice President JD Vance visited Hungary in the week before the election, speaking in support of Orbán and criticising the EU for interfering in the election.

Magyar and Tisza criticised corruption and “state-capture” by Orbán and Fidesz and pledged to restore the rule of law and rebuild trust with the EU and therefore unblock frozen EU funds. Tisza has, however, indicated opposition to EU’s migration pact, and caution in breaking from the Orbán government’s positions on Ukraine. This has included opposition to providing military support for Ukraine and scepticism about EU accession for Ukraine.

Orbán loses office

Tisza won 141 seats (over 70% of the 199 seat total) at the election, with 53.2% of the party list vote. This gave it the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to change the constitution. Orbán conceded defeat as the results came in. Orbán later announced he would not be taking up his seat in parliament, but he would seek re-election as Fidesz party leader.

Magyar said on 13 April that unblocking frozen EU funds would be his government’s top priority. Talks related to this between Magyar’s team and the European Commission began later in the week, and Magyar said that rule of law reforms in Hungary could be put in place by the end of May, paving the way for the release of EU funds.

Magyar met with the President of Hungary, Tamás Sulyok on 15 April and repeated a previous request that the president resign from office once a new government had been appointed. He later said that if the president refused to step down, he would introduce a law removing him and “all the puppets nominated to top posts by the Orbán system”, referring to other leading state officials. The President said he would officially propose Magyar as prime minister at the first meeting of the new parliament in early May.

On the same day, Magyar gave interviews to the public TV and radio broadcasters criticising their previous political coverage as “propaganda” and saying his government would suspend state media news broadcasts until a new media law was passed and new regulator set up.