Polls close in Hungary as opposition alliance seeks to unseat Orbán

(Image credit: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 3 April 2022

Hungarian voters cast their ballots on Sunday to determine whether controversial leader Viktor Orbán will serve a fourth consecutive term as prime minister, Reuters reports.

Gergely Gulyás, a minister in Orbán's government, said the high turnout is a victory for democracy and that the early projections he's seen "give cause for optimism," per Euronews.

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The nationalist and socially conservative policies Orbán has pursued during his 12 years in office — including his emphasis on border security, his pro-natalist policies, his bans on things such as gender studies programs and the promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism to children, and his rhetoric about preserving Hungary's Christian heritage — have made him a popular figure with much of the American right, especially Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who visited Hungary and interviewed Orbán last year.

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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

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