Hungary: Newcomer Peter Magyar shakes Orban’s hold on power

Partial estimates on the outcome of Hungary’s European elections indicate that Viktor Orbán’s right-wing Fidesz will send the country’s biggest delegation to Brussels despite scoring a historic low with 44% of the vote.

The result is a drop from 2019, where Fidesz gained 51.48% of the vote, and will see them send 13 MEPs together with their allies in the European People’s Party, the Christian Democrats.

They would be Fidesz’s worst result in a national or EU election in almost two decades.

The results indicate a shift in Hungarian politics largely down to newcomer party Tisza, which is projected to secure 31% of the vote. Tisza is led by Orbán-ally-turned-foe Péter Magyar who has promised to shake up Hungarian politics by challenging Fidesz’s ten-year grip on power.

Magyar, 43, is a former member of the Fidesz party who left to form his own party in February and campaigned on a platform that Orbán’s government is corrupt and that his policies have exacerbated Hungary’s social divisions.

If the anticipated results hold, Tisza should send around seven MEPs to the European Parliament.

Orbán’s government has grappled with multiple scandals including a sex abuse scandal that resulted in the resignation of several key members of his party.

Several smaller parties made up the rest of the vote, with the Hungarian Socialist Party predicted to gain 8.26% of the vote and the far-right Our Homeland Movement with 6,76%.

Hungary is due to take over the six-month presidency of the Council of the EU in July.