Hungary
The story
Unlike other post-communist countries, Hungary never had a unified anti-communist opposition — by 1990 it was already split into liberal, agrarian, Christian democratic and conservative parties, with nationalist currents in all of them, including election winner Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), whose leader József Antall implied the Hungarian nation transcended the state's borders.
1988–2010 · Fidesz's transformation
Fidesz, founded in 1988 as a social-liberal youth movement, shifted gradually toward national conservatism through the 1990s and 2000s, a transition that accelerated after Viktor Orbán — leader since 1993 — questioned the 2002 election result and organised mass protests. Fidesz's landslide 2010 return to power, fuelled by public anger at the outgoing left's corruption, gave Orbán a two-thirds majority — enough to rewrite the constitution.
2012–2018 · Building "illiberal democracy"
The new constitution, in force since 2012 and amended repeatedly, changed how Constitutional Court judges are appointed and let parliament — not the judges — pick the court's president for 12-year terms. A 2013 amendment stripped the court's power to review constitutional amendments on their content, only on procedure. In a 2014 speech Orbán said Hungary was building an "illiberal state" and has since built a project around three recurring themes — demography, migration, and gender — framing migrants through population-replacement conspiracy theories. Media laws passed in 2010 centralised regulation of all outlets, state and private, under a single government-appointed council; a 2017 "Stop Soros" law targeted NGOs and forced the Soros-funded Central European University to relocate abroad. Electoral boundaries were also redrawn to Fidesz's advantage.
2003– · Jobbik, from the far right to the opposition
Jobbik emerged before the 2002 election from the remnants of the antisemitic MIEP and broke through with almost 17 percent in 2010 — leader Gábor Vona wore a vest associated with the banned paramilitary Hungarian Guard at the opening of parliament. Since then Jobbik has moderated substantially, dropping its euroscepticism and later cooperating with the wider opposition against Fidesz, before effectively disappearing as an independent parliamentary force by 2026 — though its history leaves its democratic credibility in question.
2018-2026 · MI HAZÁNK AND THE HARD RIGHT
Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland Movement) was founded in 2018 by former Jobbik politicians who rejected the party’s moderation. It keeps a harder nationalist, anti-immigration and socially conservative line, is more eurosceptic, and became tied to opposition to COVID restrictions and vaccination policy. It entered parliament in 2022 and, as Jobbik declined, became the main party to the right of Fidesz. It survived the 2026 realignment with 5.6 percent and six seats, while Jobbik disappeared as an independent force.
2024–2026 · Tisza ends Orbán's rule
A new centre-right challenger, Tisza, led by former Fidesz insider Péter Magyar, emerged in 2024 and consolidated most of the opposition. In April 2026 it won 53.2% of the list vote against 38.6% for Fidesz-KDNP, and a two-thirds majority of its own, ending Orbán's 16 years in power.
EP elections
Fidesz has won every EP election since Hungary joined in 2004 and sat in the EPP group until its 2019 suspension, leaving its parliamentary group in 2021; in 2024 it co-founded Patriots for Europe.
Fidesz
Fidesz
- Economics Centre
- Social issues Conservative
- EU Soft euroscepticism
- Authoritarianism High
MHM
Our Homeland Movement
- Economics Centre
- Social issues Conservative
- EU Hard euroscepticism
- Authoritarianism Medium