Hungary’s Orbán concedes defeat as opposition secures landslide win

{"text":[[{"start":10.74,"text":"Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conceded defeat in parliamentary elections on Sunday night after voters handed the opposition Tisza party a sweeping landslide victory set to reverberate around Europe. "}],[{"start":24.77,"text":"With 99 per cent of the votes counted, the result amounted to a political collapse for Orbán, the EU’s longest-serving premier who has been a champion of “illiberal democracy” and the closest European ally of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin."}],[{"start":41.25,"text":"His defeat after dominating Hungary’s politics for 16 years also brings to an end years of fractious summits and last-minute brinkmanship with EU counterparts, after Orbán had repeatedly obstructed support for Ukraine and posed one of the most serious internal threats to EU unity."}],[{"start":62.8,"text":"Tisza, led by Péter Magyar, was projected to win 138 out of 199 seats in parliament, a two-thirds majority that would enable it to change the constitution. Orbán’s Fidesz party was projected to win just 55 seats, down from 133 in 2022."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":84.59,"text":"In a victory speech to a huge crowd in the capital Budapest, Magyar said: “Together, we liberated Hungary and got rid of the Orbán regime.”"}],[{"start":96.24000000000001,"text":"He added that “all signs point to a strong two-thirds majority at the National Assembly. This means a peaceful, efficient transfer of power”."}],[{"start":106.48,"text":"In a concession speech to party supporters, Orbán said “whatever happens we will serve our country and the Hungarian nation from opposition as well”."}],[{"start":117.92,"text":"“We no longer bear the burden of government, now we need to strengthen our communities,” he added. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":125.26,"text":"Victory for Magyar, who has promised to repair relations with the EU, including by unblocking a €90bn EU loan for Ukraine, will be celebrated in EU capitals where anger has intensified over Orbán’s obstructionism."}],[{"start":143.1,"text":"European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said: “Hungary has chosen Europe. A country reclaims its European path. The union grows stronger.”"}],[{"start":155.09,"text":"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had been enraged by Orbán’s decision last month to block the Ukraine loan, offered Magyar his “heartfelt congratulations”. "}],[{"start":167.08,"text":"Writing on X, Merz said: “I am looking forward to working with you. Let’s join forces for a strong, secure and, above all, united Europe.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":177.87,"text":"Orbán had become a standard bearer for national conservatism and his defeat will reverberate widely. The Trump administration multiplied its messages of support for Orbán in recent weeks, dispatching vice-president JD Vance to Budapest last week."}],[{"start":196.42000000000002,"text":"If Tisza secures a two-thirds parliamentary majority it would enable Magyar more easily to unpick the system of so-called state capture put in place by Orbán over 16 years in power. "}],[{"start":212.12,"text":"Multiple state bodies as well as educational institutions and cultural establishments have been placed under the control of Fidesz appointees during Orbán’s four terms in office."}],[{"start":224.27,"text":"Orbán entrenched his hold on power over four terms in office by changing the constitution and the electoral system to favour his Fidesz party, while clamping down on independent media and using state resources for electoral ends."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":240.75,"text":"But voters turned against Fidesz’s poor economic management, with Hungary seeing almost no growth in three years and the highest cumulative inflation in the EU since 2022. Dismay over living standards and the poor state of public services amplified public anger over endemic corruption by members of Orbán’s inner circle."}],[{"start":265.54,"text":"Magyar, a former member of the Fidesz elite, became the first serious opponent Orbán has faced by pushing aside the old opposition parties and building a grassroots political campaign in barely two years."}],[{"start":279.78000000000003,"text":"Turnout at 6.30pm local time on Sunday was recorded at 78 per cent, higher than in any general election since the fall of communism in the 1990s."}],[{"start":292.58000000000004,"text":"At a Tisza election night event, Róbert Horváth, a 32-year-old Budapest resident, said: “I realised 10 years ago at the time of the first big corruption scandals that Fidesz is not what it showed itself to be. I always voted opposition but for the first time I get to see that Hungary gets a chance to show it belongs in Europe.”"}],[{"start":316.33000000000004,"text":"Data visualisation by Alan Smith"}],[{"start":329.32000000000005,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776058365_4759.mp3"}