Orbán Concedes
Some good news for democracy, for a change.
Via Politico: Orbán’s 16-year rule over Hungary ends in crushing election defeat.
With more than 53 percent of the vote counted, his opponent Péter Magyar looked set to win 136 seats in the 199-seat parliament. Orbán’s Fidesz party was on track to win only 56.
This is a stunning outcome and a reminder that even in a stacked system, you can push voters only so far. I can’t help but take some hope that this is a foreshadowing for November.
Although I can’t hope for an outcome here this good.
If that margin of victory holds, Magyar will secure a supermajority that will allow him to unravel key features of Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” — demolishing the prime minister’s tight control over the judiciary, state companies and the media.
This is a defeat for illiberal populist nationalism. It is also a defeat for Trump, Vance, and Putin.
A heavy loss for the Hungarian premier will also deliver a painful blow to Trump’s MAGA movement, which has viewed Hungary’s prime minister as a talismanic trailblazer for its own brand of anti-immigrant, Christian-oriented nationalism.
Here’s a bet that Vance’s visit enraged even more people to vote against Orban than before.
Please continue making yourself a living joke, JD. Looking forward to that peace treaty! Wait, what?
Always fun when gerrymandering backfires. Especially when it backfires this spectacularly.
This is very good news. MAGA Europe is not looking at all like the wave of the future. Also, bad news for Putin. But much more important: I’ve been avoiding Hungary – there are plenty of non-fascist destinations – and now I can go to Budapest. Yay!
I have questions: Given what we know about how hard it is to change someone’s political affiliation, how did this happen? I’m not a doubter, it seems quite reasonable that people vote based on their identity, which does not readily change.
And then you get things like this. So there’s more to the story. There must be.
I was expecting a Taco style refusal to admit a loss and claim the party not in power to have rigged the elections.
Anyway, Mr. Orban is about to undergo a metamorphosis. He’ll go from whatever favorable opinion filled with childish superlatives El Taco held yesterday, to a low IQ loser his own family doesn’t like and he’s never even heard about.
@Kathy:
Well, I suppose it’s possible Orban might have brought him covfefe once.
Indeed, if Hungary can do this after 16 years of Orban, Americans can certainly do likewise after less than two years of Trump.
Is (was?) there a cult of personality around Orban like we have around Trump?