The European Democratic Party welcome the Hungarian election results, which mark a major political shift after years of Viktor Orbán’s rule.
“The Hungarian people have made their choice: Viktor Orbán has been defeated. This marks the end of a political cycle that has challenged the fundamental principles of European democracy,” said Sandro Gozi, Secretary General of the EDP and Renew Europe MEP. “It is also a setback for those sovereignist and extremist forces across Europe – from Giorgia Meloni to Marine Le Pen, Robert Fico and Aleksandar Vučić – who have legitimised and promoted this illiberal model.”
On 2 April in Budapest, the EDP had already sent a strong political signal by organising the event “Russians go home (Ruszkik haza!)” together with Péter Márki-Zay, former joint candidate for Prime Minister. The event highlighted concerns over Orbán’s ties with Russia and reaffirmed the commitment of the European democrats to a fully European, democratic Hungary.
“These elections mark the decline of a system built on the erosion of the rule of law, control over pluralism and permanent confrontation with Europe,” Gozi continued. “The Hungarian vote is also a clear response to external interference and to the relationships built in recent years with the Putin regime, as well as to that international political network – from Vladimir Putin to Donald Trump – that has fuelled and legitimised this drift.”
“This is a stinging defeat not only for Putin and his model, but also – and perhaps above all – for the Trumpist vision now embodied by figures like JD Vance,” Gozi added. “The Hungarians have chosen freedom, dignity and European belonging. They have shown that Europe is not a constraint to bypass, but a political community to strengthen.”
“A new phase now begins, and it will not be easy. The European Union must rise to the challenge – more political, more courageous, and more capable of protecting and promoting the rule of law. European democracy is not defended through declarations, but through daily commitment in every Member State,” Gozi concluded.
