Trump ally Orbán sees government fall despite Vance visit

In one of Europe’s most consequential elections of the year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded to the party led by Péter Magyar, ending his run as Hungary’s leader after more than 16 years.

With 60 percent of the votes counted, Magyar’s Tisza Party had more than 52 percent of the vote compared with Orbán’s 38 percent for his governing Fidesz party, according to The Associated Press, despite a last-minute push from Vice President Vance during a rally for Orbán last week.

The vote distribution will change as more votes are counted.

“Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has just called to congratulate us on our victory,” Magyar said in a post on the social platform X.

Orbán, a far-right politician and ally of President Trump, sought to hold on to power in the face of a challenge from center-right Tisza Party leader Magyar, once himself a member of Orbán’s governing Fidesz party.

Vice President Vance held a rally in Budapest last week, praising Orbán as a defender of “Western civilization” and his strong stances against immigration, as well as his adversarial approach to European Union membership, in an effort to bolster his reelection bid.

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© The Hill