Hungary’s Viktor Orban wins EU election, loses major support

LONDON

The right-wing Fidesz party led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won 44% of the vote in the 2024 EU elections but has lost its popularity in two years, with his former ally, who founded a new party months ago to challenge his grip on power, receiving nearly 30% of the vote on Sunday, according to preliminary results released on Monday.

Despite receiving 44% of the vote and electing 11 members to the European Parliament, Orban's populist party faced its worst election result in nearly two decades, both nationally and within the EU, as it received 52% of the vote in the previous EU elections in 2022.

The newly formed center-right Tisza party, led by Orban's former ally Peter Magyar, provided a stiff challenge, winning seven seats in the EU parliament with 30% of the vote.

Magyar, who was a Fidesz member, promised to shake up Hungarian politics after leaving the party in February, accusing his former ally of corruption and fueling Hungary's social divisions.

The social-democratic and green parties received only 8% of the vote, falling short of the threshold for entry into the European Parliament.

Orban claimed the election results affirmed his government’s policies.

"To sum up the result of the European parliamentary election… we can resume it best as a telegram that sounds like this: Migration full stop. Gender full stop. War full stop. Soros full stop, Brussels full stop," Orban told supporters, according to local media reports.

However, according to Magyar, this year’s elections suggest that Orban’s government is destined to fail in the future,

“This is the Waterloo of the Orban power factory, the beginning of the end,” Magyar said after the result, according to local news outlet Blikk.

Nonetheless, at a post-election rally, Orban said, referring to Hungary's local election held on the same day, "Two elections were held today, and we won both. We have won significant victories in a difficult battle," according to the media outlet.

This year's Hungarian vote also saw a high turnout, with 58.7% voting on Sunday, compared to 43.4% in the 2019 EU elections.

In recent months, Orban's government faced numerous scandals, including sexual abuse that led to the resignation of several key members of his party.