Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban conceded a clear and “painful” defeat after opposition leader Peter Magyar’s centre-right, pro-EU Tisza party surged to a landslide parliamentary victory, ending Orban’s 16-year rule. Partial results showed Tisza on course for a two-thirds majority in the 199-seat parliament, a mandate that could allow it to roll back much of Orban’s political legacy and reset Budapest’s strained ties with Brussels.
A Tisza supermajority could unblock long-frozen EU funds for Hungary and potentially remove Budapest’s opposition to major aid packages for Ukraine, including a proposed 90 billion euro loan. Economic stagnation and rising living costs appeared to be central factors behind Orban’s loss.
