Victor Orbán Faces His Strongest Challenger Yet as 2026 Election Escalates

November 11th, 2025
Ron Kim

Hungary‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ is heading towards a critical political moment as the parliamentary elections of 2026 get closer. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his right-leaning party, Fidesz, which has ruled over Hungary for fifteen years, are facing their strongest challengers yet.

The main opposition is the Tisza Party Leader Péter Magyar, a pro-European reformist who wants to strengthen Hungary's devotion to the European Union and NATO. In the process, he aims to gradually remove some of the more draconian aspects of Orbán’s rule.

“We will finally put our common affairs in order. Our homeland, Hungary, will once again be a proud and reliable ally of NATO. Hungary will once again be a full-fledged member of the European Union,” said Maygar to a crowd of supporters earlier this year. He pitches his campaign primarily to the youth, who have been voicing their discontent with the Fidesz rule more and more over the last few years.

Aside from democratic and geopolitical concerns, the economic situation may also be a decisive factor in the elections. In the past few years, Hungary has been hit by economic stagnation and higher prices. The central bank stated in February that Hungary experienced the worst inflation in the European Union following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In the last parliamentary election, Orbán launched a $5.35 billion spending spree to address social issues at the cost of extreme inflation, though he ultimately won with a landslide victory. He has since introduced cheap loans and housing support to win back public support before the elections. However, if the situation does not improve soon, experts warn that he won’t be as lucky this time around.

The election has heated up. During Hungary's commemoration on Thursday of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, both Orbán and Magyar used the opportunity to invigorate their supporters. Orbán asserted that the European Union was attempting to implement a "puppet" government within Hungary and claimed next year's election was a decision between internal peace or to "die for Ukraine." Meanwhile, Maygar lamented on Orbán’s political history. "That politician who demanded Russian troops should leave Hungary, now is the most loyal ally of the Kremlin," Magyar said, referencing the latter’s rise to power by standing up to the Soviet Union. "He built a system in which power is centralised, the press is under control and the country is ruled by fear."

The atmosphere of the campaign season remains hot and divided. The mainstream media, which critics claim to be under Orbán’s thumb, portrays Tisza as inexperienced and weak. Alternatively, the Magyar campaign is using social media and grassroots organizing to overcome this disadvantage.

Ultimately, it goes without saying that the upcoming election is integral to Hungary’s future. Regardless of who wins, the outcome will shape the nation’s domestic and international policy for decades. Yet one thing is certain: Magyar has the momentum on his side.

Extemp Question: How could the outcome of Hungary’s 2026 election affect its relationship with the European Union and NATO?