{"id":27024,"date":"2026-04-13T03:31:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T07:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T03:31:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T07:31:59","slug":"magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Magyar beats Orban in battle for Hungary: What happens now?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><strong>Peter Magyar\u2019s decisive win will reshape Hungary\u2019s relations with both East and West<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong>Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar has pulled off a stunning victory in the country\u2019s parliamentary election, with his Tisza party beating Prime Minister Viktor Orban\u2019s Fidesz by more than 16 points. The result is set to dramatically change Hungary\u2019s relations with the EU, Russia, and Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Just over an hour after polls closed on Sunday, Orban called Magyar to congratulate him on his win.<\/p>\n<p>With 92% of the ballots counted on Sunday night, Tisza was leading with 53.72% of the vote, ahead of Fidesz with 37.67% \u2013 a result in line with opposition-friendly pre-election polls.<\/p>\n<p>Magyar campaigned on ending corruption, funding public services, and restoring ties with the EU. Orban promised to continue his program of tax breaks for citizens and levies on corporations, all while pledging to keep Hungary out of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. His campaign cast Magyar as a tool of the EU, who would cut off Hungary\u2019s access to cheap Russian energy and back Brussels\u2019 escalatory policies toward Moscow.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <imgsrc=\"\" alt=\"Supporters of the Tisza party react to election results in Budapest, Hungary, April 12, 2026\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/638150-hungary-crucial-election-updates\/\">Orban concedes defeat after 16 years in power: As it happened<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A record 77.8% of eligible Hungarians voted, the highest turnout in any election in Hungarian history. Thanks to this unprecedented level of participation, <em>\u201cthe democratic mandate of the next National Assembly will be stronger than ever before,\u201d<\/em> Gergely Gulyas, the Minister of the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, told reporters.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWhat the result means for the fate of our country and the nation, and what its deeper or higher meaning is, we do not know now, time will decide,\u201d<\/em> Orban told supporters in Budapest. <em>\u201cNo matter how it turns out, we, as opposition, will serve our country and the Hungarian nation.\u201d<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>What does Magyar\u2019s victory mean?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<aside class=\"listicle\">\n<p><strong>Will Hungary maintain close relations with Russia?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is highly unlikely. Magyar\u2019s allies in the opposition media collaborated with EU spies to run stories of supposed Russian interference in the election, and Magyar led crowds in chants of <em>\u201cRussians, go home!\u201d<\/em> Rhetoric aside, Magyar is unlikely to embrace a policy of open hostility toward Moscow, but his desire to mend ties with the EU will in all likelihood result in Budapest dropping its opposition to the bloc\u2019s \u20ac90 billion loan package for Ukraine \u2013 a decision that will be poorly received in Russia.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"listicle\">\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <imgsrc=\"\" alt=\"RT\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/637587-battle-for-hungary-us-eu\/\">Battle for Hungary: How the country\u2019s election became a battleground between the US and EU<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Will Hungary get the cold shoulder from the US?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Viktor Orban is a close ideological ally of US President Donald Trump, who dispatched Vice President J.D. Vance to Budapest to campaign for his reelection, and promised to use the <em>\u201cfull economic might of the United States to strengthen Hungary\u2019s economy\u201d<\/em> if Orban won.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With Magyar in charge, Hungary will no longer be the darling of the MAGA movement, but relations between the two countries will likely remain cordial.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"listicle\">\n<p><strong>Will Magyar open Hungary to more immigrants?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Highly unlikely. Orban\u2019s hardline immigration policies are exceedingly popular in Hungary, and Magyar has attacked the prime minister on immigration from the right, criticizing his decision to allow 35,000 guest workers into Hungary from outside the EU. It remains to be seen whether Brussels will pressure Magyar into accepting asylum seekers, and whether the liberal Western media criticizes him as intensely on the issue as it did to Orban.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"listicle\">\n<p><strong>How quickly can the EU release billions of euros it withheld from Hungary?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The EU is currently withholding around \u20ac20 billion in funding from Hungary, citing concerns over judicial independence, corruption, and Orban\u2019s ban on LGBTQ propaganda. <\/p>\n<p>Magyar is on track to win the two-thirds majority necessary to modify Hungary\u2019s constitution and implement the judicial reforms demanded by Brussels, but the EU will ultimately decide if and when to release the money. Additionally, Magyar has stayed quiet on LGBTQ issues, and any attempts to liberalize Hungary to meet the EU\u2019s demands may prove unpopular with Hungarians.<\/p>\n<p>For Magyar, accessing this money is crucial. His program of spending on healthcare, education, and other public services depends entirely on the release of the funds.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"listicle\">\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <imgsrc=\"\" alt=\"RT composite.\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/636295-hungary-ukraine-election-spies\/\">Battle for Hungary: The Ukraine connection<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Will Hungary be able to cancel its contracts for Russian oil?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Russia supplies almost 90% of Hungary\u2019s oil and slightly more of its gas, and provides nuclear fuel for the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. The EU has mandated that its member states completely cut themselves off from Russian energy by the end of next year, but Hungary\u2019s contracts with Russia extend to 2035.<\/p>\n<p>Magyar has promised to end Hungary\u2019s reliance on Russian energy, but only when the contracts expire. However, he may be unwilling to continue Orban\u2019s policy of obstructing EU sanctions packages to secure exemptions for Hungary, which will essentially force a cutoff before 2035.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<aside class=\"listicle\">\n<p><strong>Will the EU now be able to steal Russia\u2019s frozen assets?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No. Despite Orban being portrayed in the media as the sole obstacle between the EU and its plans for Ukraine, the decision on whether to steal the roughly \u20ac210 billion in Russian assets frozen in the EU is an unpopular one. Leaders including Italy\u2019s Giorgia Meloni, Slovakia\u2019s Robert Fico, and the Czech Republic\u2019s Andrej Babis all oppose the measure, as does Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country the assets are impounded in.<\/p>\n<p>As such, the EU is banking on its \u20ac90 billion debt-financed loan to keep Ukraine afloat. With Orban out of the picture, Brussels will likely be able to secure unanimous support for the loan, unless Fico or Babis object.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peter Magyar\u2019s decisive win will reshape Hungary\u2019s relations with both East and West Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar has pulled off a stunning victory in the country\u2019s parliamentary election, with his Tisza party beating Prime Minister Viktor Orban\u2019s Fidesz by more than 16 points. The result is set to dramatically change Hungary\u2019s relations with the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[483],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rt-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Magyar beats Orban in battle for Hungary: What happens now? - Sting FM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Magyar beats Orban in battle for Hungary: What happens now? - Sting FM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Peter Magyar\u2019s decisive win will reshape Hungary\u2019s relations with both East and West Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar has pulled off a stunning victory in the country\u2019s parliamentary election, with his Tisza party beating Prime Minister Viktor Orban\u2019s Fidesz by more than 16 points. 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The result is set to dramatically change Hungary\u2019s relations with the [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now\/","og_site_name":"Sting FM","article_published_time":"2026-04-13T07:31:59+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now\/","url":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now\/","name":"Magyar beats Orban in battle for Hungary: What happens now? - Sting FM","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-13T07:31:59+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/magyar-beats-orban-in-battle-for-hungary-what-happens-now\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Magyar beats Orban in battle for Hungary: What happens now?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/","name":"Sting FM","description":"Just another WordPress site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/author\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27024\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}