Who is Viktor Orban, Hungarian PM fighting to stay in power after 16 years?

Who is Viktor Orban, Hungarian PM facing a pivotal election after 16 years in power?

Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, has held office longer than any current European Union leader. His upcoming 12 April elections mark his most significant political test in a decade, with most polls indicating a potential loss to Péter Magyar, a former party member. Since 2010, Orban’s government has been criticized by the European Parliament for creating a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy,” a term he has struggled to define, labeling it as “illiberal democracy” or “Christian liberty.” His allies in the US’s Maga movement refer to his ideology as “national conservatism.”

Orban’s policies have sparked frequent disagreements with EU leaders, particularly over Ukraine. He withheld critical funding for Kyiv, accusing the country of pressuring Hungary into conflict with Russia. Despite this, he maintains strong international support, including from Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. His closest EU allies come from far-right factions, yet his resistance to Brussels remains popular among many Hungarians.

His Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, recently admitted sharing details of EU discussions with Russia’s Sergei Lavrov, calling the exchanges “everyday diplomacy.” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk remarked, “Orbán and his foreign minister left Europe long ago.” Orban’s personal charm has been central to his rise, but recent polls show his supporters are growing weary of corruption claims and his leadership.

During a March campaign in Győr, Orban faced boos, a stark contrast to the energetic leader who once demonstrated resilience by helping stack sandbags after a 2010 industrial disaster. At 62, he first gained attention as a law student in the late 1980s, founding Fidesz, a political group that later became a major force. In 1989, he gave a bold speech in Heroes’ Square, reburial of Imre Nagy, declaring, “If we believe in our own power, we are able to finish the communist dictatorship.”

Ten years later, he reflected on his words, stating he had “exposed everyone’s silent desire for free elections and an independent, democratic Hungary.” Hungarian journalist Paul Lendvai noted that Orban has shifted from a “promising defender of Hungarian democracy” to its “chief author of its demise.” His early life, shaped by a strict father in Felcsut, a village with 2,000 residents, included football and military service, where he rejected an offer to work for the communist secret services.