Budapest is still carrying last night’s excitement—late enough that the city feels a bit bleary in the morning, like it didn’t really switch off. Even so, Peter Magyar’s message is already trying to move the story forward.
Despite the celebrations, the Tisza leader used his Facebook message earlier this morning to thank voters “at home and across the world” and to frame what comes next as something bigger than a change of party. “Thanks to every Hungarian at home and across the world! It is a huge honour that you have empowered us with the most votes ever to form a government and to work for a free, European, well-functioning and compassionate Hungary over the next four years. The Tisza government will be the government of every Hungarian person.”
There’s a lot packed into that short promise. Misryoum newsroom reported that Magyar’s rise has been swift, almost too swift for people to believe in the middle of it—admiration and antipathy often trading places depending on who you ask. Some who know him describe a discipline that shows up in the routine (crisscrossing the country, giving up to six speeches a day), but they also mention a short temper and an abrasive edge at times. Others say it’s precisely what Hungary needed, a leader who could match the scale of the moment. Actually, it’s hard to say which version will be the one that lasts, once governing starts swallowing the calendar.
The numbers, for now, are part of the argument. With 98.94% of votes counted, Misryoum newsroom reported that Magyar’s Tisza party is projected to get 138 seats in the new parliament, with just 55 for Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz and six for the far-right Mi Hazank (Our Homeland) party. Those figures matter because they point to a two-thirds majority (133 or more seats), the kind required to overhaul laws comprehensively—at least in theory. Misryoum editorial desk noted that this could create a real chance to break with the Orbán era rather than simply replace it.
Still, even supporters acknowledge how tangled the task will be. Misryoum analysis indicates that Magyar faces severe economic pressures, immense public expectations, and an opposition in Fidesz that retains extensive informal power and influence even in defeat. One of the hardest parts may be psychological and institutional at the same time: dismantling “Orbánism” is described by some as not just removing a leader, but undoing a system that has infiltrated the state, the media, the economy and political culture itself. The idea—half promise, half warning—is that removing Orbán is one thing; dismantling what he built is another.
Outside Hungary, responses are already shaping expectations. Misryoum newsroom reported that Slovakia’s prime minister Robert Fico and the Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš congratulated Magyar, with both positioning themselves for “intensive cooperation” and “constructive” work with whoever voters choose. In Berlin, Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz praised the result as “a good day” and said it sends “a very clear signal against right-wing populism,” also arguing that EU decision-making on Russia-related issues should get easier.
Europe, though, seems to be arguing with itself about what the victory really buys. Misryoum editorial team stated that while some hope the “Orbán problem” is now over, the EU still lacks a coherent strategy for tackling democratic backsliding within its ranks—something that could come back sooner than anyone wants. The room for optimism is there, but it sits beside a more cautious question: whether the political, legal and moral wreckage left behind can truly be repaired, and whether the new government will find a way through the expectations it has already invited.
A small detail from the morning: somewhere near an underground station, there was still the faint smell of stale coffee lingering in the air, like the night had simply stopped mid-sentence. And maybe that’s the mood—Hungary celebrating, but also pausing, because the real work starts the moment the music fades.