A New Era in Hungary

One of the moments we will never forget from our years covering Europe was when, in 1986, Time magazine described the communist dictator of Hungary, János Kádár, with the word “beloved.” Time was roundly mocked in a memorable editorial in the Wall Street Journal and, subsequently, in a string of dispatches from Peter Keresztes. The moment has stayed with us as a flashing yellow light when covering dictators and so-called strongmen.The moment came back to us with the news today that, after 16 years in power, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was ousted democratically in a Class A landslide led by one of Mr. Orbán’s former loyalists, Péter Magyar. That puts Mr. Magyar at the head of a parliamentary majority of about two-thirds of all seats — “meaning,” our Matthew Rice reports, that “he and his colleagues may have the power to change the nation’s constitution.”The result is all the more dramatic because on Tuesday President Trump proclaimed “I love Viktor.” He did so, per the New York Times, in a telephone call to a gathering of supporters of Mr. Orbán’s Fidesz party at Budapest. Mr. Trump also rushed the vice president, JD Vance, to Hungary to campaign for Mr. Orbán and traditional values. Millions of Americans no doubt appreciated Mr. Orbán’s views on at least some of those issues.It was, though, too late. Mr. Orbán was swept away by a movement led by, in Mr. Magyar, one of Mr. Orban’s erstwhile supporters. Mr. Orbán conceded gracefully. When democracy booms, that’s about all one can do. The Wall Street Journal marked the economic problems that Mr. Orbán failed to address but on which Mr. Magyar campaigned. Hungary’s economy grew but 0.4 percent in 2025; inflation has soared more than 57 percent since the end of 2019.The Journal points out that Mr. Orbán’s “policy mix relied heavily on state subsidies for favored industries like EV batteries. His agenda also combined pro-family rhetoric with handouts for parents who have children.” The Journal called his program “right-wing statism.” It “won votes at first but its appeal has faded as growth and real incomes have lagged.” The number of Hungarians leaving their own country to live abroad has soared.This all sets up what could be an open field run — at least for a while — by Mr. Magyar. Mr. Orbán, Mr. Rice writes, had been a kind of “model” for “European and American conservatives looking to crack down on immigration, centralize power, and deploy the state to incentivize marriage and childbearing.” Then again, too, Mr. Rice writes, “he leaves office as one of President Putin’s last remaining allies in Europe.”Mr. Magyar had a simple message for Hungarians on Sunday evening: “Thank you, Hungary!” Mr. Magyar wrote. In separate posts, Mr. Rice reports, Mr. Magyar announced that Mr. Orbán had called him to concede and that he had spoken to President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, Secretary General Mark Rutte of NATO, and the president of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber.Which brings us back to János Kádár. He ruled for more than 30 years. He died in 1989, as the Soviet Union was coming apart and a new era dawning. The absence of a democracy in Hungary made it hard for some to see that “beloved” was not the right adjective for Mr. Kadar. We may yet hear from Mr. Orbán again; he’s already talking of how he will rebuild. If Mr. Magyar pursues a supply-side strategy, though, Mr. Orbán may have a hard time catching up.

A New Era in Hungary

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