Author: staff

It’s the end of an era: Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is on the way out after suffering a crushing defeat in Hungary’s general election.Péter Magyar, who will take his place as prime minister, is on course to win a supermajority in parliament. In this election special, host Ian Wishart speaks with reporter Max Griera who’s been at the victorious Tisza watch party in Budapest and Jamie Dettmer, our foreign affairs columnist, who’s also in the Hungarian capital. They discuss what Magyar’s victory means for the country following years of democratic backsliding and illiberal democracy. Plus, how this new leader might mend Budapest’s…

Updated: 13/04/2026 – 7:00 GMT+2 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this April 13th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More

The best part about reading a book is that it can transport you to a place you’ve never been, and one that only exists in your imagination. The best part about watching film and TV is that it takes you somewhere you can actually visit. Set-jetting, aka visiting locations you’ve seen while watching a movie, is still a huge trend in 2026 and shows no signs of slowing down. While most people will travel to a specific destination after seeing it on screen, some people take it a step further by following in the footsteps of their favourite characters. Plenty…

Ungarn wählt Orbán ab — was das für die EU und die Ukraine bedeutet – POLITICO Skip to main content

And yet, the conflict that is helping him politically also risks undermining the economic strategy his premiership depends on. So far, Starmer’s handling of the crisis hasn’t been flawless. The U.K. was too slow to send a warship to the Mediterranean, irritating allies including Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Relations with the U.S. have also deteriorated after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Starmer for his initial refusal to permit U.S. aircraft from flying out of U.K. bases to bomb Iran. In fact, the “special relationship” is now so strained, senior Whitehall officials worry intelligence cooperation could be affected.…

Szabolcs Panyi tells POLITICO that Budapest’s accusations are “meant to psychologically pressure me and shatter my credibility,” in the wake of his reporting on secret talks between Péter Szijjártó and Sergey Lavrov. Mar 27 5 mins read

Independent journalists have faced an uphill battle in Hungary as Orbán took control of 80 percent of media in the country. Despite that, independent reporters became a decisive factor in the final outcome. They uncovered how the Orbán government worked to undermine the opposition via the country’s secret services, and obtained details of phone calls between Budapest and the Kremlin, discussing sensitive EU matters. Doctors will also be a winner, as Magyar has promised to increase public investment by €1 billion a year. That pledge comes after a decade of underspending in the health sector that left long waiting lists,…

Orbán conceded, with tears in his eyes, saying: “However it turned out, we will serve our country and the Hungarian nation from the opposition.” A jubilant Magyar, theatrically clutching a Hungarian flag, stepped onto a stage on the banks of the River Danube to the strains of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as his supporters cheered and popped Champagne corks. “Together, we have liberated Hungary,” he said. With such an emphatic margin of victory, Magyar will secure a supermajority in parliament that will allow him to change the constitution and unravel key pillars of Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” — demolishing the former…

And come what may, Magyar remained laser-focused in his campaigning on bread-and-butter issues while hammering Fidesz over corruption, noting how Orbán’s family, business cronies and inner circle have grown ever richer as ordinary Hungarians have just got poorer.  What really concerned voters — inflation, economic malaise and endemic corruption — all remained front and center in Magyar’s campaign, according to Mátyás Bódi, an election geographer affiliated with Budapest’s Eötvös Loránd University. And they played well for him, explained Bódi, who analyzed raw local polling data from independent pollsters throughout the election campaign. “What drove Orbán’s defeat was the cost of…

European People’s Party (EPP) leader Manfred Weber, which the victorious Tisza opposition party belongs to, also couldn’t contain his glee at Orbán’s defeat. Orbán’s populist-nationalist Fidesz party left the center-right EPP Group in 2021 and joined the far-right Patriots for Europe. “Tonight is the victory of the people of Hungary!” Weber wrote. “They confirm that our centre-right, people-first politics win elections.”  “Substance. Solutions. Unity — not empty slogans and fears,” he added.  Orbán’s 16-year reign in office ended Sunday night with a landslide win for the center-right opposition, led by Magyar, who is on track to win around two thirds of the 199 seats in Budapest’s parliament.  Many…