Pro-European supporters of the Tisza party, which opposes Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, celebrate their victory in front of the Parliament building in Budapest on April 12, 2026. FERENC ISZA/AFP
True to its reputation as a liberal and party-loving city, Budapest danced and celebrated until dawn. "It's over! It's over! It's over!" and "Russians go home!" shouted tens of thousands of Hungarians, many of them young and elated. They spontaneously flooded the streets of the Hungarian capital on Sunday, April 12, to celebrate the heavy defeat of Viktor Orban in the legislative elections. After 16 years of far-right rule and as many years of democratic backsliding, Budapest became a city of blaring horns, embraces and electronic music beats.
This election, which had turned into a vast referendum on Orban and his pro-Russian diplomacy, ended with a historic victory for his conservative and pro-European opponent, Péter Magyar. "All Hungarians feel in their hearts that this victory is the signal that Hungary is back in Europe. And Hungary will be a strong ally of the European Union," Magyar promised in a passionate speech delivered on the quays of the right bank of the Danube, across from Budapest's magnificent Parliament building, where his party is set to enter with an overwhelming majority.
