Hungary Election

• President Donald Trump and his administration actively promoted Hungary's far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during his reelection campaign through social media and an election-eve trip to Budapest. • Trump demonstrated his willingness to publicly intervene in foreign elections, marking a significant exercise of political influence abroad. • The move reflects Trump's pattern of backing allied leaders globally and raises questions about U.S. diplomatic norms regarding foreign electoral involvement.

Corruption scandals and a surging opposition have turned the vote into the biggest test yet for the long-serving populist leaderThe drone footage showed a sprawling residence in northern Hungary, complete with manicured gardens, a swimming pool and an underground garage. But it was what came next that captured much of the country’s imagination: zebras darting across the countryside. Continue reading...

Polls suggest lead for opposition candidate before vote on Sunday as both allege enlistment of foreign interferenceEurope live – latest updatesHungary elections: what is at stake and who is likely to win?Viktor Orbán and his centre-right rival, Péter Magyar, have traded accusations of enlisting foreign interference in a high-stakes election that polls suggest could mark the end of the nationalist Hungarian prime minister’s 16 years in power.As the two leaders’ campaigns entered their final stages before this weekend’s vote, which is being watched as keenly in Brussels, Moscow and Washington as in Budapest, Orbán said on social media on Friday that his opponent would “stop at nothing to seize power”. Continue reading...

Opposition candidate Péter Magyar warns supporters against complacency as some voters undecided ahead of Sundayin BudapestWe talked to a few Budapest residents this morning in the city centre at Jászai Mari Square. Continue reading...

Former Viktor Orbán loyalist and his Tisza party have enjoyed meteoric rise as opposition movement growsAs a child growing up in Budapest, Péter Magyar had a poster of Viktor Orbán – at the time a leading figure in the country’s pro-democracy movement – hanging above his bed. Orbán was one of several political figures that adorned his bedroom, Magyar told a podcast last year, hinting at his excitement over the changes sweeping the country after the collapse of communism.Now Magyar, 45, is the driving force behind what could be another momentous political change in Hungary: the ousting of Orbán, whose 16 years in power has transformed the country into a “petri dish for illiberalism”. Continue reading...

Von der Leyen urged to take action about alleged disinformation and intimidation on behalf of Orbán’s partyThe European Commission is being urged to investigate whether Hungary’s elections are being undermined by Russian manipulation, intimidation of journalists and voter coercion by the ruling party.Three days before decisive parliamentary elections that threaten the 16-year grip on power of the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, a group of MEPs wrote to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the commissioner responsible for the rule of law, Michael McGrath, calling for action. Continue reading...

US vice-president has repeatedly endorsed Viktor Orbán ahead of key election on SundayUS vice-president JD Vance continues his stay in Budapest, where he is expected to address the conservative Mathias Corvinus Collegium this morning on the back of his yesterday’s “not-at-all endorsement” of the embattled prime minister Viktor Orbán, five days out from the key election on Sunday.His comments yesterday caused quite a stir after he repeatedly blasted the European Union for allegedly interfering with the vote, before repeatedly endorsing Orbán, openly campaigning for him and thus effectively interfering with the election on his own. Continue reading...