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Hungary’s chairman of the opposition Tisza Party Peter Magyar (center) addresses supporters after his party won landslide victory in the general elections in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday. (EPA-Yonhap) <\/p>\n Hungary’s chairman of the opposition Tisza Party Peter Magyar (center) addresses supporters after his party won landslide victory in the general elections in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday. (EPA-Yonhap) <\/p>\n
European leaders heaped praise on Peter Magyar after his stunning election victory in Hungary, not just for what the vibrant campaigner and the country’s next premier might do but who he is not \u2014 long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who many saw as a direct threat to the continent’s peace and prosperity.<\/p>\n
The outpouring reflected a deep frustration with Orban across the 27-nation EU and its institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday Europe wins and European values win,\u201d said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a post on X on Sunday night. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk exclaimed on social media, \u201cBack together! Glorious victory, dear friends!\u201d<\/p>\n
Orban’s 16-year grip on power has tested the EU system of governance meant to ensure peace through economic and political integration after the ravages of the world wars. Claiming he sought to advance Hungarian\u2019s national interests over strategy forged in Brussels, Orban time and again vetoed collective action such as support for Ukraine following Russia’s all-out invasion.<\/p>\n
Recently, the far-right leader’s government outraged EU leaders and officials when it admitted to providing a backchannel to Russia during summits.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview, Magyar told The Associated Press that if elected, he would repair Hungary\u2019s relationship with the EU. However, he has carefully avoided taking firm positions on a number of divisive issues during the election campaign \u2014 including Orban\u2019s anti-LGBTQ+ policies and whether Hungary should extend more support to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll Hungarians know that this is a shared victory. Our homeland made up its mind. It wants to live again. It wants to be a European country,\u201d Magyar said during his victory speech from the banks of the Danube River in Budapest, the country’s capital.<\/p>\n
After Orban concedes, congratulations for Magyar pour in fast Magyar said he received calls on Sunday night \u2014 before he took the stage to announce his victory \u2014 from French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n
Online, congratulations also flowed in from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and European Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Romanian President Nicusor Dan and European Council President Antanio Costa also posted their well-wishes for Magyar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an historic moment, not only for Hungary, but for European democracy,” Starmer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrance welcomes the victory of democratic participation, the Hungarian people\u2019s commitment to the values of the European Union, and Hungary\u2019s commitment to Europe,\u201d Macron said.<\/p>\n
Merz said, \u201cLet\u2019s join forces for a strong, secure and, above all, united Europe.\u201d Kristersson referenced both the EU and NATO in his congratulation note to Magyar, \u201cI look forward to working closely with you \u2013 as Allies and EU Members. This marks a new chapter in the history of Hungary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slovenia\u2019s liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob congratulated Magyar, saying his \u201cvictory over right-wing populism is also a great victory for the EU and its future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly a more united and more effective EU will be able to respond to the extremely serious challenges of the times ahead,\u201d Golob said.<\/p>\n
Israeli opposition figure Yair Lapid, himself a descendent of Hungarian Jews who survived the Holocaust, also congratulated Magyar.<\/p>\n
And from some, kind words for Orban Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni congratulated Magyar but also thanked Orban for \u201cintense collaboration for these years.”<\/p>\n
Far-right French politician Jordan Bardella, seen as a nationally competitive politician in the upcoming 2027 French elections, praised Orban’s record on populist causes in a post on X. He made no mention of Magyar.<\/p>\n
Von der Leyen, who had like many EU officials avoided any public position on the Hungarian election, posted on X that “Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. Together, we are stronger. A country returns to its European path. The Union grows stronger.\u201d Orban had vilified the Brussels-based EU executive and frequently stymied her agenda.<\/p>\n
European People’s Party President Manfried Weber, also a frequent Orban target, said on social media that “Hungary is back at the heart of Europe.” German lawmaker Daniel Freund said that \u201cHungarians are sending a signal to the world” \u2014 and warned that Orb\u00e1n\u2019s election loss will reverberate among populist leaders world over.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe icon of illiberal anti-European forces has now failed – brought down by a disastrous economy, corruption, and his own unfair electoral system,” Freund said.<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s posted congratulations to Magyar on its X account, referencing two historic rivers of Ukraine and Hungary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Dnipro and the Tisza flow through a shared home \u2014 Europe,\u201d it said. (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hungary’s chairman of the opposition Tisza Party Peter Magyar (center) addresses supporters after his party won landslide victory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[39,4,58,10035,4401,10202,4402],"class_list":["post-12645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-europe","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-hungary","tag-magyar","tag-orban","tag-pedro","tag-tisza"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}