Magyar replacing Orbán on Europe day is quite something

I expect he’ll be on Republican speaking circuit - trying to rake in more cash. Maybe hanging out at Mar a Lago too

BREAKING: Viktor Orbán quits Hungary's parliament after 36 years – confirming my earlier scoop that he's planning a longer US trip this summer, where heads of the Orbán business empire – his daughter and son-in-law – already live, and where he could possibly seek refuge from prosecution.

Exclusive: It could take six months to fully clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines deployed by the Iranian military, the Pentagon has informed Congress. The timeline is perhaps the clearest sign that gas prices could stay high through the midterms.

"Magyar’s remarks at his first press conference as Prime Minister-elect were delivered in front of a wall of Hungarian flags bracketed at each end by that of the EU." Alexander Faludy anlayses Péter Magyar‘s landslide victory in the Hungarian parliamentary elections. ukandeu.ac.uk/how-hungarys...

🇪🇺🏳️‍🌈⚖️🇭🇺 A legal earthquake - CJEU finds Hungary to have violated EU law on multiple counts with its anti-LGBT+ legislation (as expected) but also for the first time in history, in an EU law-reshaping precedent, finds Hungary to violate Art 2 TEU in a self-standing manner.

1/ All the hallmarks of a neo-royalist lollapalooze. Syrian billionaire, ties to Kushner, sanctions relief, preferential contracts. This is not the rules based order or spheres of influence. Global politics is being run by court insiders. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/u...

NYT INVESTIGATION: As the Trump administration & Congress last year moved to repeal sanctions on Syria, the Qatar-based family that most stood to benefit was privately negotiating a real-estate partnership with Jared Kushner and proposing a Trump golf course in Syria www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/u...

Have been wondering when candidates would start talking about this. One of the biggest corruption scandals is U.S. history playing out in real time.

Pleasure to join Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, & @rosabalfour.bsky.social on @cnas.bsky.social Brussels Sprouts podcast to discuss the Hungarian election and its impact on European politics www.cnas.org/publications...

Politico went looking for who picks up Orbán's chief disruptor crown — and found Fico already holding it, Radev calling Ukraine "doomed," Meloni confessing sympathy for Orbán to EU leaders, and Babiš demanding the same loan carveout. 🔗 euromaidanpress.com/2026/04/15/p...

Orbán will be gone, but will the Kremlin soon have a new Trojan Horse in Brussels?

Donald Trump has become so politically toxic in Europe that even his closest ideological allies increasingly view him as a liability. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/trum...

My take on the Hungarian election in @lawfaremedia.org www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-...

Apart from this, Magyar also thrashed the public broadcaster in a radio and a TV interview, recounting the lies they broadcasted and adding that "the factory of lies" would be closed, and waved at Orbán, reading on the terrace of his office, from the terrace of the office of the Head of State.

👋 More and more Fidesz insiders are jumping from the sinking ship. Suddenly they blame each other, the circumstances, the party leadership, even Viktor Orbán himself. And of course they all claim they “saw it coming” long ago. 🧵

Peter Magyar displaying a ruthlessness that Biden and Starmer seem devoid of

I was thinking this morning how both Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan would have been delighted to see a Westward-looking, centre-right party defeat a pro-Russian autocrat in a former Eastern Bloc country.

On a more serious note, this does show the necessity of a big-tent single-issue pro-democracy coalition. Autocrats lose when anti-authoritarianism is the opposition-uniting priority, and win when they can play divide and conquer on lesser issues.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán misread his electorate by bashing the EU and Ukraine. His crushing loss yesterday showed voters cared more about cronyism and economic mismanagement. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/orba...

Hungarians celebrated the landslide defeat of Orban by singing "We Are the Champions" out in the streets

Orban's system was rigged to give plurality winners with widespread support in the countryside super-majorities in the parliament - so Peter Magyar generated widespread support in the countryside and has been rewarded with 69% of the parliamentary seats. Now he can undo Orban's constitution!

Perhaps now is a good time to share the @financialtimes.com investigative series on Viktor Orban. To start with here’s the one we sent a reporter up in a plane for … (300 free clicks) as.ft.com/r/8cd54659-d...

Magyar says he’s starting work with the EU and NATO immediately. “The EU doesn’t have to worry anymore.”

Magyar: “No mercy, they will need to take responsibility for all their actions.”

Orbán's electoral crushing is a far greater achievement than most people outside Hungary realise. He systemically consolidated power for 16 years, fixed the electoral map, abused govt power for political purposes & censored media. The hurdles that Hungarians overcame for this moment were immense.

This is Hungary's new electoral map. What a day!

Hungarians showing how to win big in an unfair election: organize AND protest AND vote AND demand profound change.

People outside my hotel in central Budapest are honking their horns "hm-hm-hmmhmm" in the rhythm of "Ruszkik haza", which means "Russians go home"

I spent 16, SIXTEEN years fighting this crap. I can’t believe it 😭

one immediate dramatic consequence of the Hungarian result: Magyar has promised to repair relations with the EU and unblock a €90bn EU loan for Ukraine

3. Magyar reiterated that joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office and restoring 🇭🇺 as a constructive partner in 🇪🇺 will remain top priorities for his government. In response, Hungarian citizens gathered at Batthyány tér, across the Danube from Parliament, chanting: “Europe, Europe, Europe.”

🇭🇺🎉THREAD 1/3 The dismantling of state capture is already beginning today In his victory speech, Péter Magyar called for the resignation of – Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary – the President of the Constitutional Court – the President of Hungary’s Supreme Court (the Curia) – the Prosecutor General

Orban used his autocratic rule to create a mafia state- with him & his cronies enriching themselves on EU & Hungarian state funds. A lot of nervous oligarchs in Hungary today.

Delicious irony here: Orbán assumed opposition would be divided and rigged the electoral system to hugely favor the largest party. But seems Magyar’s movement won such a huge victory that it benefited from that system

Hallelujah

With 30% of the votes processed, Tisza is indeed right on the cusp of a supermajority (133 seats needed). And the results from Budapest and larger cities are usually underrepresented at this point.

Orban has not appeared on tv - he sent his chief of staff looking ashen. In the meantime, challenger Peter Magyar appeared on tv to claim that this is a historic day. There are no exit polls in Hungary but here are projections from a respectable researcher based on pre-election polls.

👀🗳️ When polls close in Hungary at 7pm, there won’t be proper exit polls. Instead, some reliable independent pollsters will release embargoed surveys conducted just days before the vote. Their results are in line with their previous, already published findings (no surprises).

Voting has ended. The first *estimate* is in from 21 Kutatokozpont and it shows Tisza on the cusp of a supermajority. BUT, this is not an exit poll. It's an estimate based on polling bw April 8-11. Results will start coming in after 8pm. telex.hu/belfold/2026...

💥Polls closed in Hungary. No exit poll, but 21 Research Institute’s Apr 8–11 exclusive survey for @telexhu.bsky.social shows the opposition Tisza party leading Orbán's Fidesz 55–38, with the far-right Our Homeland around the 5% threshold. Tisza is on the verge of a parliamentary supermajority.

At 5pm it's officially a record -- at 74% it's the highest turnout in the history of modern elections in Hungary. And there is still two more hours to go.

#CrossingRedLines ❗️THREAD 1/2 In his Facebook post, Balázs Orbán, the political director of Prime Minister Orbán, raises the specter of potential armed violence on the part of Tisza. I am not aware of when we lost all state functions, including the security apparatus, over the past couple of days,..

If Orbán loses election but challenges results in the kangaroo courts he has packed with party loyalists, the EU will have a dilemma on its hands. The EU has long accepted unfair elections in Hungary but what would it do if an autocrat blatantly stole an election? www.politico.eu/article/frau...

For the crucial Hungarian election, friends don’t let friends follow fake-experts. Follow these real experts instead: @gabrielagreilinger.com @danielhegedus.bsky.social @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social @zecsaky.bsky.social @rdanielkelemen.bsky.social @eublogo.bsky.social

This is a great sign. Looks like the Orban regime is finally going down today. He has tilted the playing field heavily in his own favor and will try vote buying schemes, but a big enough wave of support for the opposition can overcome all that…

Good sign that Orban lackeys are defecting from his mafia state in run up to tomorrow’s election www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/w...

There's some palpable shift, let's call it vibes, towards Tisza in the last few weeks in Hungary. I'm careful with vibes but defections like this add some scaffolding.

In that same speech in ‘89, Orbán memorably tore into the regime for taking “our future from us — from the youth of today.” Then he went on to take ours.

A very helpful primer from @garvanwalshe.org on Hungary's electoral system. 👇 Two additions: the majoritarian nature of the system can obsure opposition votes. Keep this in mind even in case of a Tisza supermajority -- Fidesz voters will still be there the day after.