A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #371 - Antifascism - Hungary: Vege van! Orbán is finished! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

April 12th marked a major political turning point in Hungary's history. 
Viktor Orbán, the country's Prime Minister for 20 years without 
interruption since 2010, has just been ousted by the meteoric rise of 
his opponent, Péter Magyar, even though many believed that the aspiring 
dictator's numerous attacks on social-democratic institutions had made 
any transition through elections impossible. How can we understand this 
rupture, and what will its consequences be?
Yet he had done everything to consolidate his position at the head of 
the Hungarian state. To begin with, Orbán had gradually taken control 
not only of public broadcasting but also of some 500 private media 
outlets, allowing his party, Fidesz, to unleash its nationalist 
propaganda in all its forms. In parallel, he had altered the electoral 
rules to his advantage, notably by merging constituencies favorable to 
the opposition while increasing the number of parliamentarians in those 
where Fidesz held a majority. Benefiting from a two-thirds majority, he 
was able to amend the constitution in January 2012, adopting a more 
authoritarian and reactionary version, and install his cronies in 
various key positions within the state apparatus.

Orbán boasted of having established an "illiberal democracy," supposedly 
closer to traditional Hungarian values. Sociologist Dorit Geva, a 
professor at the University of Vienna in Austria, prefers to describe 
this regime as "authoritarian and hypernationalist neoliberalism," which 
she calls "ordo-nationalism"[1]. According to her, Orbán's policies rest 
on three pillars: first, the partial nationalization of certain sectors 
of the economy, in order to organize capital accumulation for the 
benefit of an emerging national bourgeoisie.

Secondly, the capture of the state by the party and its loyalists, 
rewarded through a system of patronage. Thirdly, a socially repressive 
and patriarchal shift, seeking to curry favor with a segment of the 
middle class at the expense of the poorest and racial and gender minorities.

A reversal facilitated by economic factors
Ultimately, Orbán's policies amounted to nothing less than an 
unprecedentedly rapacious plundering of Hungarian resources and 
heritage, organized for the benefit of an oligarchy. Street lighting, 
tourism, hotels, restaurants, construction, highways, banks, insurance 
companies, football, tobacco shops, vineyards... all these profits were 
seized by the ruling power and used to reward those most subservient to 
it[2]. Ironically, the Hungarian economy was now functioning almost 
entirely on life support from the European Union, the very same EU that 
Orbán constantly denounced.

But since 2022, the freezing of over EUR21 billion of these funds by the 
European Commission following the regime's authoritarian shift has been 
linked to a faster-than-ever deterioration of the country's economic 
situation, with record inflation rates. Access to stable, well-paid 
employment has become a pipe dream. Budget cuts to public services have 
been particularly visible to the population, with approximately 15% no 
longer having access to a general practitioner. Public schools are being 
deserted by the middle class and their teachers. As a result, Fidesz has 
finally lost the support of its economic base[3]. At the same time, 
numerous corruption scandals have erupted, which government control of 
the media has failed to suppress. To name just a few: a presidential 
pardon granted to a convicted pedophile, public lighting contracts used 
to divert European funds to Orbán's son-in-law, preferential treatment 
given to a battery factory regarding its polluting and carcinogenic 
emissions, a foreign minister reporting almost directly to Putin...

Péter Magyar, who ousted Orbán on April 12, skillfully seized upon these 
various scandals, making the fight against corruption the cornerstone of 
his campaign. At the head of his Tisza party, which didn't even exist 
two years ago, he managed to capture the votes of all those who wanted 
to see the would-be dictator fall, from both the left and the right. 
Voter turnout in these parliamentary elections was nearly 80%, 
unprecedented in Hungary since the fall of the communist regime. Tisza 
crushed Fidesz by 15 points and in turn secured a two-thirds majority in 
parliament, enough to allow Magyar to oust the pro-Orbán operatives whom 
the latter had installed in key government positions. On the evening of 
the victory, jubilation swept through the crowds gathered in the streets 
of Budapest, like a massive cry of relief.

A victory... for social democracy
Can we, libertarian communists, also rejoice in this major political 
event? Yes... up to a point. Because Péter Magyar, the man of the hour 
who brought down the tyrant, is himself a dissident from Fidesz and 
advocates a liberal center-right program, just as anti-immigration as 
that of his predecessor. Furthermore, he carefully avoided addressing 
"controversial" social issues during his campaign, such as the rights of 
LGBTI people persecuted under Orbán. Moreover, since his party benefited 
from the transfer of votes from the left, the latter has completely 
disappeared from the Hungarian Parliament. In the end, the biggest 
winners in this story are the liberals of the European Union. One of the 
first consequences of this election is that it should unlock the EUR90 
billion EU loan to Ukraine, which Orbán had vetoed.

Let us rejoice, however, that we have seen not only a symbol, but also a 
material supporter of the fascist international, stumble. Magyar has 
already stated that it will end public funding for the Maga structures 
of the ultraconservative right based in Budapest. In France, the 
National Rally (RN) is losing one of its most valuable allies. As 
recently as 2025, Marine Le Pen expressed her "most ardent support for 
valiant Hungary," which she described as a "model of historical 
resistance to oppression." She herself benefited from a EUR10.6 million 
loan for her 2022 presidential campaign from a Hungarian bank owned by a 
close associate of Viktor Orbán[4]. Let us hope, therefore, that his 
fall, in addition to providing respite for the populations persecuted 
under his regime, leaves us more room to maneuver in building our 
revolutionary and libertarian alternatives.

Johanna (UCL Lyon)

Submit

[1]Dorit Geva, "Orbán's Ordonationalism as Post-Neoliberal Hegemony," 
2021, Journals.sagepub.com. 
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0263276421999435

[2]"'In Orbánistan,' everything is power, corruption, and lies," Les 
Jours, March 29, 2026. 
https://lesjours.fr/obsessions/viktor-orban-hongrie-legislatives/ep2-mainmise-economie/

[3]"Elections in Hungary: Orbán mired in the economic collapse," 
Libération, April 10, 2026. 
https://www.liberation.fr/international/europe/elections-en-hongrie-orban-englue-dans-la-deconfiture-de-leconomie-20260410_CWOLW4Z4DJGR3MCVCIXW57UDNY/

[4]"With Orbán's defeat, the "The National Rally loses a role model and 
an ally," Mediapart, April 13, 2026. 
https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/politique/130426/avec-la-defaite-d-orban-le-rn-perd-un-modele-et-un-allie

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Hongrie-Vege-van-Orban-c-est-fini
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en