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Viktor Orbán concedes defeat after 'painful' election result
- Mert_Predicts 5mo ago[dead]
- card_zero 5mo agoOoooh. I didn't think it would happen. This disturbs the balance a bit.
- stefs 5mo agowhich balance? orban was a parasite, trying to embezzle as much money from the EU without getting the boot (hungary as the biggest per-head receiver of EU funds), while probably also getting paid by russia - a hostile actor - for his actions (i.e. sabotaging the union and sowing dissent through propaganda). there was no balance there.
- card_zero 5mo agoOK then, some other metaphor to say it allows things to change and allows escape from a static situation. It releases the brakes?
- lysace 5mo agoWelcome back to Europe, Hungary.
- jacquesm 5mo agoTime will tell. Keep in mind that his successor was part of Orban's party in the past.
- flopsamjetsam 5mo agoI don't know much about him, only that he was in the same party. I have heard that he is pro-EU and anti-Russia though, is that true?
- orwin 5mo agoYes, he basically have the same views, except on Russia. One advantage though is that Orban put his people at the head of Hungary corporations, so maybe that will end and the corruption will be kept at "normal" levels.
- jacquesm 5mo agoPro-EU: probably. Anti-Russia: also probably. For both: I prefer to see it all rather than to assume it will be fine. Oh, and we still have Fico to deal with. But at least Hungarians have chosen against Orban that in itself gives some hope. Those leaked phone calls that were made public in the last weeks were very damning, I always assumed that such stuff was going on but to have hard proof is on another level. I wonder what they're going to do with the participants. And what Orban's plans are now that he's in the opposition. I would not count him out just yet, he's got Putin's backing and you can bet they'll work overtime to try to destabilize Magyar's government. The rot goes pretty deep and it will take a lot of work to undo all that damage.
- lysace 5mo agoFrom your perspective as afaik nowadays a Californian progressive: Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
- jacquesm 5mo agoYes, that's true. But there is enough about Magyar that I don't understand that I'm cautiously optimistic. Though it would be hard to imagine worse than Orban... JD Vance strikes again. I wonder how long it will take US politicians and assorted billionaires to realize that their 'endorsements' will backfire.
- cjbenedikt 5mo ago"...will take US politicians and assorted billionaires to realize that their 'endorsements' will backfire..." They may have to switch off their AI and start using their own brain - should they still have one, that is.
- salawat 5mo agoShhhh. Don't correct your enemy while they are busy making mistakes. Just smile and wave.
- mandeepj 5mo agoThey all start from the same root whether Trump (once a democrat), BJP (part of congress, oldest political party in India)
- chollida1 5mo agoSad commentary on the modern world where my first thought was, well good for Orban to concede defeat. Not all current world heads of state have that much maturity. This bodes well for the midterm state of the European union.
- analog31 5mo agoPeaceful transition of power is definitely something to cheer about.
- ahofmann 5mo agoSadly so. In the last decades it was just normal for almost all countries. It's kind of maddening how low Trump lowered the bar for politicians.
- mstade 5mo agoAs a fellow European this is the biggest surprise of the election, I thought for sure he'd pull a Trump.
- quantummagic 5mo ago[flagged]
- ceejayoz 5mo agoWe're just gonna pretend Jan 6 never happened, eh? He claimed the 2020 election was stolen again yesterday.
- jacquesm 5mo agoExcept of course for the little bit where he instructed his VP to not certify the elections.
- HDThoreaun 5mo agoTrump still to this day has not admitted he lost against biden
- croisillon 5mo agocontesting election results untruthfully always existed, but since 2021 the result is not the headline anymore, the concession is
- trvhar 5mo ago[flagged]
- deleted 5mo ago[deleted]
- tomalaci 5mo agoAmazing news for EU! If Tisza can get supermajority after votes are counted then they can also easily reverse a lot of constitutional corruption in Hungary done by Orban.
- cmxch 5mo ago[flagged]
- bigyabai 5mo agoJudging by the election results, it was a populist ouster.
- ceejayoz 5mo agoGosh, financial support for one of the candidates by an outsider would be horrible, right? https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116382335330123013 https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/1163823353301... > My Administration stands ready to use the full Economic Might of the United States to strengthen Hungary’s Economy, as we have done for our Great Allies in the past, if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian People ever need it. We are excited to invest in the future Prosperity that will be generated by Orbán’s continued Leadership! President DONALD J. TRUMP edit: OP's post originally complained that this was Soros's fault.
- jacquesm 5mo agoLet's see Trump standing by his word and help strengthen Hungary's economy now that the Russian Stooge has lost. So much for that continued leadership.
- tim333 5mo agoI imagine some Euroskeptics are happy too. I'm not too bothered if Hungary is in the EU or not but I wasn't a fan of the pro Putin stuff.
- Dig1t 5mo ago[flagged]
- ceejayoz 5mo ago[flagged]
- crop_rotation 5mo agoI have not read much about this issue, but I wonder if it is as serious as you are saying why are populations across Europe not voting against it, or they are voting but getting ignored by the rulers?
- hagbard_c 5mo ago> or they are voting but getting ignored by the rulers? That is what happened in at least: - the Netherlands (votes for Wilders) - Sweden (votes for SD) - Germany (votes for AfD) - France (votes for whatever that party is called nowadays) - the UK (votes for Brexit largely based around migration issues) - Belgium (votes for Vlaams Blok) - Italy (votes for Meloni) - Austria (votes for FPÖ) ...and I can go on. In most countries in Europe voters have spoken out against what they consider to be excessive asylum-based migration from non-Western cultures without requirements regarding assimilation or integration but not much has happened politically until very recently when the EU parliament voted to increase deportation efforts [1]. It remains to be seen whether this law will have any measurable impact given the fact that the EU actively supports many NGOs which aim to achieve the opposite of what the law states. [1] https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/03/26/eu-parliament-approves-controversial-bill-to-increase-migrant-returns https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/03/26/eu-parliament-...
- jacquesm 5mo agoCan we please stop with the 'great replacement theory' drivel? You seem to want to drop that into conversations even though it is patent bullshit. Thank you. > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47666504 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47666504 > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47521089 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47521089
- seper8 5mo agoThank god Vance showed up to support him!
- ceejayoz 5mo agoVance also knocked off Pope Francis, and the Iran deal last night. Maybe we can send him to Moscow next.
- seper8 5mo agoI bet Viktor felt too uncomfortable to tell him "no please don't come stay in the USA, you are political poison"
- JojoFatsani 5mo agoVance is on track to replace Dan Quayle at the bottom of the Civ leader rankings.
- cosmicgadget 5mo agoYes but has Orban even said thank you?
- comrade1234 5mo agoFlagged due to sour grapes.
- FeloniousHam 5mo agoProbably flagged because of lack of tech relevance. (I listen Ukraine: The Latest daily, I'm reasonably up-to-date big issue European politics).
- deno 5mo agoExactly: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- consumer451 5mo agoThis is a hugely important geopolitical event, and mods here often override flagging in such cases. Here is an example of HN moderation going the other way, when it favored a right-leaning narrative: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34712496 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34712496 It is getting more and more difficult for me to see moderation here as unbiased. The charitable take is that people are often not aware of their biases. I am sure I suffer from that to some extent, though I really try to go out of my way to be self-aware about this. And yes, of course this comment could be evidence of my own bias.
- Symbiote 5mo agoMy guess is it's flagged by Americans (it's their daytime) who don't realize the significance of this result to the EU and potentially the EU's response to the war in Ukraine.
- salawat 5mo agoYou know, I took a second look at it, and weirdly enough, I can't vouch it for some reason. That's odd. Grats to the good folks across the pond though! May we be so lucky when next our transition is scheduled!
- workfromspace 5mo agoHappy for Hungary! Unfortunatlely, half democracies (ie representative) are open to abuse and give too much power to presidents or governments. Combined with populism, lobbying and corruption, it allows people like Orban to stay in power for a long time. Glad it's over.
- thomassmith65 5mo agoHappy for Hungary, the EU, the planet. The sooner the world falls out of love with populism and illiberalism, the better.
- Mert_Predicts 5mo ago[dead]
- Jamesbeam 5mo agoI knew the projections were looking really grim for Orban after watching JD Vance putting Trump on speakerphone five days ago during his Hungary visit. That was awkward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUoCvIMrgc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GUoCvIMrgc They must be really tired of winning by now. What? 4$ gas until November Mr.President? Who doesn’t love paying 30% more for Gas out of their pocket for a war that is already won. Tremendous work Mr. President. A capital V victory.
- surgical_fire 5mo agoGood. I visited Hungary years ago, and I loved the time I spent there. It saddened me a bit to see its sliding into autocracy and being relegated to be a Russian vassal state. Hopefully the damage Orban caused to Hugarian institutions get reversed.
- sph 5mo agoIt all seems so easy, despite the efforts of Putin and the US to support a guy that was there for almost two decades. I wonder if the incumbent party is, somehow, in the pocket of those fascists. I have a hard time accepting they’d just shrug and move on from being able to control a puppet state that’s the thorn in EU’s side. Any reason not to be so cynical? I am unfamiliar with the details of Hungarian politics, but I can’t help wondering if it is staged. And why would Orbán just roll over after all this time in power?
- deleted 5mo ago[deleted]
- anal_reactor 5mo ago> I have a hard time accepting they’d just shrug and move on from being able to control a puppet state that’s the thorn in EU’s side. What can they realistically do? Invade Hungary? > And why would Orbán just roll over after all this time in power? What can he realistically do? A coup? With such a devastating defeat this would only lead to massive protests, which would completely ruin his political career. Meanwhile he can take a step back and think how to get back to the game in the next election. As bad as Orban was, and as manipulated the election process was, he always won using legit votes. Which was both his strength and his weakness.
- Scipio_Afri 5mo agoWhy is this and all other posts about this flagged?
- croisillon 5mo ago"unpolitical" people don't like being reminded what their stance brings to
- Whatarethese 5mo agoIt really feels like the tides are turning against the cancer that is populism.
- imartin2k 5mo agoI suspected he would lose when he was recently visited and supported by Vance. Nobody likes Vance (in Europe, and probably anywhere). Getting prominent backing by an unlikable character isn’t a winning strategy.
- derdi 5mo agoAlso, the fact of faking a terror attack and everybody just shrugging it off as an obvious Russian false flag op. I think even Orbán understood at that point that the jig was up.
- tim333 5mo agoOne thing that's surprised me over the last few years is how much Russia messes with global politics. It seems to seeping into public consciousness so instead of being seen as a bit of a conspiracy theory you now have the crowds shouting Russia out. I don't know if that'll effect other Russia backed projects like Brexit financed by Russia via Arron Banks and Trump, financed by the "We have all the funding we need out of Russia" stuff. It doesn't seem illegal but the voters may be getting fed up with it all?