The end of the autocratic trident: Orban, Putin, and Trump against democracy

Anyone following European and global politics can easily see that Viktor Orbán was, for years, the primary blocking force against European Union and NATO measures to protect Ukraine from the Russian invasion. Within the alliance, Orbán was viewed by many as a true traitor to European security. Now, that policy has come to an end with his historic defeat in the Hungarian elections. It was 16 years of uninterrupted governance, where the agenda was marked by controversial trips to Beijing and Moscow and a progressive shift away from liberal values.

In July 2024, Hungary assumed the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Although Charles Michel encouraged the initial visit to Kyiv, Orbán’s subsequent trips to Russia and China dropped like a bombshell, forcing the President of the European Council to clarify that the Hungarian leader had no mandate to engage with Vladimir Putin on behalf of the Union. Orbán proved he was not a leader capable of promoting a genuine dialogue for peace, remaining always a dissonant voice within NATO.

The creation of the “Patriots for Europe” group in the European Parliament represented a real danger to democratic cohesion, becoming the third-largest political force in the chamber by uniting Orbán with figures such as Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini. This nationalist and Eurosceptic bloc, composed of 84 MEPs, defined itself by its opposition to supporting Ukraine. However, European institutions remained on high alert against this alliance, which seemed to serve solely the interests of the Kremlin, threatening the continent’s security and freedom.

The now-former Hungarian leader never hid his enthusiasm for Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, seeing himself reflected in policies that attack individual freedoms. It is well known that Trump admires Orbán’s model of “illiberal democracy,” as both have tested the limits of democratic institutions. Throughout his successive mandates, Orbán passed more than a thousand laws that stifled judicial power and justice, promoting a “cultural war” based on the reversal of established rights.

It is deeply ironic that Orbán, a self-proclaimed atheist, proclaimed himself the “crusader” defending Europe’s Christian roots. With the fall of this regime, there is hope that the newly elected Prime Minister, Péter Magyar—whose victory with a two-thirds majority was confirmed on Sunday (12)—will be up to the challenge and have enough energy to restore the Rule of Law and push aside the “heirs of the Reich.”

The landslide victory of Péter Magyar’s TISZA party is not just a change of government; it is a sign that European peoples, when mobilized, can expel authoritarianism from their institutions. Orbán’s fall marks the beginning of the collapse of this “trident” that threatened the civilized world.

“The ‘righteous’ advance in a political offensive against the ‘impure.’ We are now moving toward institutionalizing not justice, but the violation of human rights, abuses of power, and non-democratic interference in political life.” Pacheco Pereira

Vitor Silva/MS

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