Viktor Orbán’s Hungarian experiment runs out of steam

Viktor Orbán’s Hungarian experiment runs out of steam

After 16 years of leadership, Viktor Orbán’s governance became known as an ‘experiment’—though even he struggled to define it precisely. He referred to it as ‘illiberal democracy,’ a term he found too critical, while his American allies dubbed it ‘national conservatism,’ a more palatable label, though not entirely accurate. Unlike traditional conservatives, Orbán was a persistent rebel, steadily pushing his ideological boundaries. The question remained: what exactly was he preserving in this radicalized framework?

Orbán consistently defied mainstream norms and the ‘Brussels bureaucrats.’ He positioned himself as a challenger to globalism, yet welcomed foreign investments from Germany’s automotive sector and Chinese and South Korean EV battery firms. His rhetoric championed national sovereignty, yet he hesitated to defend Ukrainian independence from Russian aggression. He criticized mass immigration, yet quietly encouraged arrivals from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Ukraine, and Turkey to staff his industrial projects.

Despite his efforts to boost family growth by allocating funds to incentivize couples, the fertility rate had dropped back to 1.31 by 2025—a figure inherited from the Socialist era in 2010. The abrupt concession on Sunday night highlighted his awareness of public perception. He projected himself as a ‘majoritarian’ democrat, advocating that ‘the winner takes all,’ and implemented policies accordingly. Within a year of securing a two-thirds parliamentary majority in 2010, he overhauled the constitution, reshaping Hungary to align with his party’s vision. Legal and economic reforms followed swiftly, centralizing power under his control.

The decisive vote on Sunday marked the end of Orbán’s experiment. Péter Magyar’s triumph stemmed from his Hungarian flag symbolism, his inclusive national message, and the electorate’s fatigue with perpetual conflict. Voters resented the growing disparity where the wealthy accumulated more wealth, the poor struggled further, and the middle class diminished. Orbán often emerged victorious in his battles, but his people craved stability and calm. They sought a ‘normal country’ with a voice, not a lab for ideological testing.

“Tonight we celebrate,” he told the huge crowds, dancing on the shores of the Danube. “But tomorrow, we start work.”