Péter Magyar burst onto the Hungarian political scene two years ago. He was an unknown, but in a very short time he rose up in a kind of messianic figureHe was the politician on whom all the hopes of those who dream of a Hungary without Viktor Orbán in power were pinned. Just two months after his party, Tisza, was registered as a political organization, it finished ahead of Fidesz, the prime minister's party, in the European elections. But back then, the big event, the Hungarian parliamentary elections, still seemed too far off, and there was an inevitable wariness of the newcomer among citizens and analysts. Now, less than a month before the elections, Péter Magyar has consolidated his position as a competitor on par with Viktor Orbán, who for the first time since 2010 faces a real possibility of losing the elections.

The EU is going through difficult times, with two powerful enemies closing in and trying to undermine its autonomy in every area. One is Vladimir Putin's Russia, which, since the invasion of Ukraine, has not stopped threatening the European space, even militarily. The other is Trump and his administration, who have not stopped showing contempt for the EU and threatening it economically and even militarily, despite being historical allies. And, as if that weren't enough, there are the internal enemies, the main one being, and this is not too surprising, Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, who has not stopped throwing a wrench in the works of EU initiatives, especially those related to European support for Volodymyr Zelensky's Ukraine.

Giant images of Volodymyr Zelensky fill billboards during the election campaign in Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has decided to turn the general elections on April 12 into a referendum on the war in Ukraine and, in doing so, fuel the war psychosis that already guaranteed him a strong majority in 2022. The Fidesz leader has been in power for sixteen uninterrupted years, built on assumptions about the future. Since 2010, Orbán and his party—which has become a benchmark for the transatlantic far right—have managed to construct a vast partisan media ecosystem, at the heart of which is the National Communications Office, under the prime minister's watchful eye. Billions of euros invested in communication campaigns and a coordinated social media strategy are complemented by the creation of grassroots activist movements that amplify the arguments, theories, and accusations dictated by Fidesz.

A racist comment by a Hungarian minister about Roma people, suggesting they should "clean the filthy toilets" on trains, could backfire on Fidesz, the party of ultranationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, ahead of the April 12 parliamentary elections. "The reserve of this country is the Hungarian people, not immigrants. The decision to close the border means that everyone must be given a chance in Hungary. We will not allow anyone who is not Hungarian into the country. If there are no immigrants and someone has to clean the toilets on intercity trains because Hungarian voters are unwilling, then the internal reserve must be called upon." "And the internal reserve is Hungary's Roma population," declared Transport and Construction Minister János Lázár at a rally with supporters outside Budapest.

The best—or worst—of every corner of the global far right has joined forces this week to support one of its leading figures, now in decline, Viktor Orbán, the longest-serving leader in the European Union. Set to music as repetitive as it is bland, the Hungarian prime minister, in office since 2010, posted a video on his social media account featuring his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni; Alice Weidel of Alternative for Germany; and the Spanish politician Santiago Abascal, among others, encouraging Hungarians to vote for him in the general election, which will take place on April 12. Also participating is the Argentinian Javier Milei, who at the end calls for the inevitable "Long live freedom, damn it!Matteo Salvini; France's Marine Le Pen; and Austrian leader Herbert Kickl, head of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). It is surprising in this context that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has joined in, stating that "security cannot be taken for granted, it must be won." With his praise, Netanyahu overlooks Israel's official boycott of two of the European far-right parties featured in the video—the German AfD and the Austrian FPÖ—because of their antisemitic roots. Also included are Czech Prime Minister André and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised the new US security strategy on Thursday and deemed US President Donald Trump's criticisms of the European Union and its supposed decline to be accurate. "The United States has a precise understanding of Europe's decline. They see the decline on a civilizational scale that we in Hungary have been fighting against for fifteen years. Finally, we are not fighting alone," Orbán said, satisfied, in a message posted on social media.

The European Union remains on the defensive against the United States, which has excluded it from any crucial discussions on continental security. Offering support but solicitous. Angry but without a voice of its own. The EU's credibility in Ukraine is being decided at home, with the 27 member states divided on how to finance their aid to Kyiv and with the maverick Viktor Orbán defying the European agenda once again. The Hungarian prime minister is one of those who take offense in Brussels and are sought after in Moscow.

There are peoples who have lived under a dictatorship and who quickly forget it, quite content. But there are peoples where this memory is never truly eradicated. This is the case of Romania in the matter of József Nyírő, a writer from Hungarian Transylvania.

[We are republishing this interview conducted in Marrakech on September 27, 2024, on the occasion of the 2024 Formentor Prize]

It could be said that Viktor Orbán, the designer of the most convoluted illiberal and authoritarian trenches—both Putinist and Trumpist—within the European Union, is beginning to crumble, to fade away. The polls show that he is the most likely candidate. In his party, the far-right Fidesz, the lowest level of support in the last ten years: a 36% voting intention.

Now that it's summer, the busiest season of the year, with or without extreme heat, the feeling we fortunate people have is that we're freed from our usual routines, getting a change of scenery, and moving more or less wherever we want and, above all, wherever our budgets allow. But we should especially value the importance of moving, whether far or short, even more so. More and more so. Because while some take boats to visit new places, others take them to escape their countries of birth. While some can decide how and where to travel on vacation, others have restricted movements for living.

Tens of thousands of people—more than 100,000 according to the organizers—participated in the 2025 Pride March in Budapest this Saturday, despite the ban imposed by Viktor Orbán's ultra-nationalist government in Hungary, which has been politically and judicially persecuting the community for years.

The ballot boxes continue to test the European Union, telling it that it has had enough doubts, and it must go all out and resist the joint assault of Trump and Putin.has been left in a shock, a parody mounted by the ultra-right candidate George Simion, declaring himself the winner when the exit poll estimates indicated that the president would be the pro-European Nicusor Dana. Relief and hope in the EU, coexisting with fears, and all of this surrounded by great uncertainty that will cost him to leave, even if on Sunday, June 1, the liberal Rafal Trzaskowski becomes president of Poland.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has intensified his war on the LGBTI community. This week, Hungary amended its constitution to restrict the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people. The controversial constitutional amendment, championed by Orbán and widely approved by Parliament (140 out of 199 votes in favor), recognizes only two genders: male and female. Furthermore, Hungary has also reinforced its ban on Gay Pride marches by putting "the protection of children" before fundamental rights such as freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.

He Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Orbán has entered the German election campaign on Wednesday by supporting Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is second in the polls for voting intentions for the German elections on 23 February. Orbán considers the far-right leader to be "the future of Germany". "All points of the AfD programme benefit Hungary, above all on the migration issue," said Orbán at a joint press conference with AfD held in Budapest.

The European Union often functions in practice as a club of states, but in the minds of its founding fathers (De Gasperi, Schuman, Adenauer, etc.) and in the letter of the treaties it is a community of values. Specifically, Article 2 states: "The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to member states in a society characterised by pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between men and women". But what happens when one or more member states flout the letter of the treaty and pass homophobic laws, as Hungary and Poland have done, or limit judicial independence, as Poland has done? This Thursday, the European Commission launched legal action against these countries for violating the fundamental rights of the LGTBI community.

The Spanish People's Party (PP) abstained in the European Parliament on Thursday in a vote calling for a freeze on EU funding for Hungary following the entry into force of a law banning the discussion of homosexuality in schools. Although the majority of MEPs voted in favour of the initiative, 12 of the 13 PP MEPs (including its leader, Dolors Montserrat) chose to abstain. The only one who did not was Esteban González Pons, the group's vice-president, who did support it.

The Hungarian government has taken another step in its crusade against LGTBI rights. The country's Parliament has passed a law that prohibits talking about homosexuality in schools or include content that is considered to promote homosexuality or sex change among school materials or television spaces aimed at minors, including advertisements. The law has been approved thanks to the absolute majority of Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and has also received the support of the far-right Jobbik, while the rest of the opposition has chosen not to participate in the vote.