Hungary’s prime minister has spent years railing against the European Commission president.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen rejoiced over Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s shattering loss in Sunday’s national election.
“Hungary has chosen Europe,” von der Leyen wrote on social media just 17 minutes after the Hungarian prime minister conceded defeat to opposition rival Péter Magyar. “Europe has always chosen Hungary. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.”
Orbán was among von der Leyen’s most bitter antagonists, with the Hungarian leader opposing her legislative agenda for years and his Fidesz party even using her likeness in attack ads and billboards.
European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber, to which the victorious Tisza opposition party belongs, also couldn’t contain his glee at Orbán’s defeat. Orbán’s populist-nationalist Fidesz party left the center-right EPP group in 2021 to join the far-right Patriots for Europe.
“Tonight is the victory of the people of Hungary!” Weber wrote. “They confirm that our centre-right, people-first politics win elections.”
“Substance. Solutions. Unity — not empty slogans and fears,” he added.
Orbán’s 16-year reign ended Sunday night with a landslide victory for the center-right opposition, led by Magyar, who is on track to win around two-thirds of the 199 seats in Budapest’s parliament.
Many of the political reactions to Orbán’s loss focused on what his defeat would mean for Europe, after years in which he thwarted EU unanimity on matters such as aid for Ukraine while barracking Brussels for tougher migration rules and nationalist policies.
“Hungary’s place is at the heart of Europe,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola wrote.
French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Magyar: “Together, let us advance a more sovereign Europe, for the security of our continent, our competitiveness, and our democracy.”