‘Now I’m hopeful’: Hungarians welcome the morning after 16 years of Orbán rule

In a small plaza facing Budapest’s Nyugati train station, Gabor, 40, confessed that he was very, very hungover.

“I partied all night,” he said, laughing. “It was crazy, I thought Fidesz was going to win. Now I’m really hopeful.”

It was a hint of the mix of excitement, disbelief and hope that has gripped much of Hungary. After 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s efforts to transform the country into a “petri dish for illiberalism”, Hungarians overwhelmingly cast their ballots to oust Orbán and his Fidesz party from power in Sunday’s election.

Instead, the record turnout translated into a landslide victory for the opposition Tisza party in a result that sent thousands of jubilant supporters pouring into the streets of Budapest on Sunday night.

Led by Péter Magyar, the centre-right party won 138 of the parliament’s 199 seats, giving it the power to amend the constitution and potentially dismantle many of the key pillars that had sustained Orbán’s “illiberal democracy”.

“I’m so happy. I can’t quite believe that it happened,” said Eva, 37. “This morning I was bracing for something to happen – like they would say they found some massive number of ballots that would change the results. Now I’m starting to believe that it could be real.”

The election result was due, in part, to the mobilisation of young people who voted against Orbán’s government. Many of them had come of age as the country plunged in press freedom rankings, faced accusations of no longer being a full democracy and became the most corrupt country in the EU.

As the results rolled in on Sunday, an impromptu party sprang up on the banks of the Danube, spilling across the city as strangers hugged and high-fived each other in metro stations and people chanted “We did it!” and “It’s over” against a backdrop of honking vehicles.

Some shimmied up lampposts to tear down the government posters – this time attacking Magyar and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – that have long been a feature of Orbán’s government.

Amid the excitement questions continued to swirl about what might lie ahead for the country, including among those who had voted for Tisza. “I feel like we still don’t know Péter Magyar so well,” said Franciska Dombi, 27, as she walked her dog Charlie. “The way he speaks in his speeches, all the rhetorical phrases he uses, they sound very much like the way that Viktor Orbán used to speak. And of course, he’s a conservative politician, so I’m not sure how he’ll be.”

It was a nod to Magyar’s singular history as a former member of Fidesz. He began speaking out against the party in early 2024, alleging that it was rife with corruption and cronyism, before launching his own party soon after.

As his party rode a wave of discontent over corruption and crumbling public services to the top of the polls, Magyar crisscrossed the country, holding as many as six rallies a day during the campaign as he pledged to repair Hungary’s strained relationship with the EU, crack down on corruption and rebuild the country’s crumbling public services.

His plans, however, were always discussed in the broadest of strokes, in what was seen as a strategy to avoid providing fodder for the estimated 80% of Hungary’s media that is controlled by Fidesz loyalists.

On Monday, Magyar said his party had received an unprecedented supermajority that would allow it to carry out its reforms. “The Hungarian people didn’t vote for a simple change of government, but for a complete change in regime,” he said.

The campaign had played out on the global and domestic stages, as the White House scrambled to endorse Orbán days before the vote. The campaign had also been marked by allegations of Russian interference, compounding a playing field that global election observers in 2022 noted was “marred by the absence of a level playing field”.

Magyar on Monday said he hoped to take power as early as 5 May.

On the streets of Budapest on Monday, many wondered what would now become of Orbán, 62. For decades he had been a mainstay of Hungarian politics, first as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand and then as a Russia-friendly nationalist at the vanguard of the far right.

“I feel like this was such a big hit,” said Márton Bács, 28, citing the overwhelming result. “It was a huge blow; politically I don’t believe he can survive it in the long run.”

Others said it was unlikely that Orbán, the EU’s longest-serving leader, would go quietly. “He’ll try to project strength as the opposition,” said Mariann, 37.

Sitting next to her, Eva noted that Orbán had reacted appropriately to the results by conceding the election less than three hours after polls closed on Sunday. “I can’t imagine him stepping back,” she said. “But I would be happy to see him disappear; I can imagine him fishing or gardening at home,” she added with a laugh.

Not everyone, however, was thrilled with Sunday’s result. “I voted for Fidesz and I’m rather sad to see what happened,” said Katalin, 72, expressing frustration that so little was known about Magyar and what he would do in power. “Maybe I would trust Tisza politicians more if I knew more about them.”

The sentiment was echoed by Márton Üveges, 38, who said he had voted for Fidesz. “I was really surprised; I didn’t expect this result,” he said.

He said he was holding out hope that Orbán would find a way to come back after four years in opposition. “But we will have to see how he’s going to build something from this point.”

Given the extent of the changes that Orbán had wrought since 2010, few expected Magyar to be able to bring about change swiftly. “It will probably take a couple of years,” said Dombi. During Fidesz’s time in power the party stacked the Hungarian state, media and judiciary with loyalists, sparking questions as to how they would respond to a Tisza-led government.

But, for now, Dombi said she was content to celebrate the moment. “I’m very happy and hopeful,” she said, listing healthcare, education and tackling corruption as areas that were in desperate need of change.

“We could actually have a country that is really good to live in,” she said. “This is history being made.”