“Today, the Hungarian people said yes to Europe,” opposition leader Péter Magyar declared after a landmark election win that ended Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power and opened the door to a major reset in Hungary’s ties with Brussels and NATO. In the same victory speech, Magyar promised that “Hungary will once again be a strong ally of the European Union and NATO.” Andrea Palasciano, a security, defense and international relations policy correspondent at Bloomberg, and Roland Freudenstein, co-founder of the Brussels Freedom Hub think tank, told TVP World’s Wider View program that the change in Budapest is being greeted with relief across European capitals. Freudenstein said many in Brussels viewed the result as the end of years of obstruction by Orbán’s government. “There was a huge sigh of relief last night in Brussels and I dare say in most of the member state capitals,” he said. He argued that Hungary had, “in many essential cases,” been “paralyzing the European Union and its decision making and acting like an agent of Putin.” Questions remain During his years in office, Budapest repeatedly clashed with Brussels over rule-of-law concerns, democratic backsliding and policy toward Ukraine, while billions of euros in EU funds for Hungary were frozen. Palasciano noted, however, that the transition may not be immediate. “It could take them up to a month to form a government,” she said, and “until then, things can’t really begin.” That means Budapest’s position on urgent EU decisions may remain unclear in the short term, even if the direction of travel already appears to be changing. One immediate issue is Hungary’s veto of the EU’s planned €90 billion loan for Ukraine, a step Brussels wants reversed quickly. Palasciano also said that for Magyar, unlocking frozen EU funds for Hungary would be a priority because “the economy is not doing great.” Orbán had become one of the Kremlin’s most useful partners inside the EU. Freudenstein said that “all the autocrats of the world had their agent, so to speak, in Viktor Orbán,” adding that “he was their guy in Brussels and in the European Union.” Not automatically a fully pro-Ukraine shift Still, both TVP World’s guests cautioned against assuming that Hungary will now fully align with every Brussels position. Palasciano said that “this will not be as easy as many thought” and warned that Magyar is “by no means straightforward when it comes to his policies about Ukraine.” Magyar has signaled a more Western orientation, but has also taken a tougher line on some issues than many of his supporters abroad might expect, especially when it comes to fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU accession. Palasciano noted that Magyar “is not in favor of fast tracking it” and said that for any accession to happen, “there would have to be a referendum” in Hungary. Warning for Europe’s hard right The Hungarian result reverberates far beyond Budapest. Both analysts suggested that parties across Europe associated with Donald Trump, Orbán or a pro-Kremlin line are likely to reassess their messaging after the defeat. Freudenstein said one poll suggested that US Vice President JD Vance’s endorsement of the Hungarian PM “cost Orban another three percentage points in the election,” adding that “Trump is not popular in Europe, and that includes Hungary.” Palasciano argued that a recalibration is already underway. “We are seeing this recalculation as we speak,” she said, pointing in particular to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who “has already started to distance herself from certain points of Trump rhetoric.” Palasciano added that Trump administration decisions, “such as the war in Iran, are deeply unpopular in Europe across the political spectrum.” For now, the scale of Magyar’s win gives him room to act, but also leaves him with little excuse if change stalls. Freudenstein predicted “a year of creative chaos,” but said the change in Hungary could still prove transformative if EU money begins to flow and the new leadership manages to overcome entrenched resistance.
