The landslide defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was not just a repudiation of his authoritarian rule and a blow to the global far-right movement. According to the New York Times Editorial Board, it also revealed a "road map" for toppling President Donald Trump.
Orbán has been a close ally to the MAGA movement in the U.S., so much so that Vice President JD Vance was dispatched to Hungary to campaign on his behalf. The outgoing prime minister's efforts to exploit the judiciary, redraw electoral maps in his favor, target immigrants and consolidate media control under his allies have been widely seen as a template for other authoritarian far-right governments all over the world.
It is fitting, then, that Orbán's defeat this weekend might also be instructive in the ongoing fight to stop Trump's authoritarian push in the U.S. and the broader MAGA movement. In a piece published Tuesday morning, the Times' Editorial Board broke down the lessons that the president's enemies should take heed of from Hungary.
"Two aspects of [incoming new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter] Magyar’s campaign strategy were especially important," the board explained. "First, he focused on the bread-and-butter issues that often guide the decisions of swing voters, and not just in Hungary. In the United States, these voters soured on Mr. Trump after his first term and helped elect Joe Biden in 2020, only to become frustrated with inflation and vote in 2024 to return Mr. Trump to office."
Magyar's campaign pushed a platform for the opposition Tizsa party titled, "Foundations of a Functional and Humane Hungary," which, among other things, criticized the "inefficiency" of government services under Orbán and promised new benefits for working class Hungarians, including "tax cuts for working-class families, expanded health care, increased pensions, larger child benefits and a pay increase for support staff members at schools," pledging to fund them via new taxes on the wealthy and renewed connections with the European Union.
"Mr. Magyar’s party spread its campaign themes in innovative ways through social media, making Mr. Orban’s state-run media messaging look old and tired," the board added.
The analysis continued: "The second lesson may be harder for Democrats — and center-left parties in Europe — to absorb. Mr. Magyar, who identifies as center right, won partly by avoiding the social progressivism that dominates elite left-leaning circles and alienates many voters. He ran as an economic progressive and a cultural moderate if not conservative."
