Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declares victory in national election
With the results of the national election still coming in, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Sunday night claimed victory, telling a crowd of supporters that his win is "so big that you can see it from the moon, and you can certainly see it from Brussels."
This was a reference to the European Union. The right-wing Orbán routinely clashes with the EU, and over his last 12 years in power, he has been a vocal critic of migrants and LGBTQ rights and taken control of several of Hungary's democratic institutions, The Associated Press reports.
"The whole world has seen tonight in Budapest that Christian democratic politics, conservative civic politics, and patriotic politics have won," Orbán told supporters. "We are telling Europe that this is not the past, this is the future."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Orbán is also an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Sunday he accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being an "overwhelming force" against him.
With roughly 91 percent of ballots tallied, Orbán's Fidesz-led coalition has 53 percent of the vote. United for Hungary, the opposition coalition, has a little over 34 percent of the vote. The right-wing Our Homeland Movement looks to have received more than 6 percent of the vote, exceeding the 5 percent threshold necessary to gain seats in parliament.
In Hungary, Orbán allies control many of the news outlets, giving them pro-government agendas, AP reports. The electoral map is also heavily gerrymandered, and opposition parties and international election observers say this all makes it difficult to go up against Orbán.
"Hungary seems to have reached a point of no return," political scientist Edit Zgut with the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw told AP. "The key lesson is that the playing field is tilted so much that it became almost impossible to replace Fidesz in elections." Read more at The Associated Press.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How the ‘British FBI’ will workThe Explainer New National Police Service to focus on fighting terrorism, fraud and organised crime, freeing up local forces to tackle everyday offences
-
The best family hotels in EuropeThe Week Recommends Top kid-friendly hotels with clubs, crèches and fun activities for children of all ages – and some downtime for the grown-ups
-
Moon dust has earthly elements thanks to a magnetic bridgeUnder the radar The substances could help supply a lunar base
-
How realistic is the Democratic plan to retake the Senate this year?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Schumer is growing bullish on his party’s odds in November — is it typical partisan optimism, or something more?
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
