Budapest – After nearly two decades in power, Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán could be ousted as leader in the country’s parliamentary elections on Sunday. The latest polls indicate that Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party are trailing the opposition center-right Tisza Party and its leader Péter Magyar in an election closely watched by observers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Independent watchdogs and European Union officials have accused Orbán’s government of launching a sustained assault on Hungary’s democratic institutions and rule of law since he took office in 2010. In the 16 years since taking office, the country has been ranked as the most corrupt in the European Union by Transparency International.
Orbán has used his party’s current supermajority in Hungarian parliament to undermine the independence of the judiciary, crack down on independent media, demonize migrants and discriminate against LGBTQ people, according to Human Rights Watch. Orbán is known for making publicly xenophobic and racist statements, calling refugees “Muslim invaders” and saying Hungarians do not want to become a “mixed race.”
Freedom House, a U.S.-based nonprofit, has designated Hungary as only “partly free,” citing issues with less-than-free-and-fair elections and a stifling of independent institutions under Orbán’s leadership. Despite concerns over democratic backsliding in the country, a Thursday poll conducted by the IDEA Institute showed that Orbán’s Fidesz party had the support of only 37% of decided voters. The center-right Tisza party has the support of 50% of decided voters.
Orbán has been one of President Trump’s closest global allies since Mr. Trump was first elected as U.S. president in 2016. He was the only European Union leader to publicly endorse Mr. Trump’s first successful bid for the presidency, and the relationship has deepened between the two men over the past decade.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump gave a full-throated endorsement of Orbán on Truth Social. “Highly Respected Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is a truly strong and powerful Leader, with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Viktor works hard to Protect Hungary, Grow the Economy, Create Jobs, Promote Trade, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER!”
The partnership between the Trump administration and Orbán was on full display Tuesday when Vice President JD Vance publicly campaigned alongside the Hungarian leader in Budapest. “Will you stand for sovereignty and democracy? Will you stand for Western civilization? Will you stand for freedom, for truth and for the God of our fathers?” Vance asked attendees at an Orbán campaign rally. “Then my friends, go to the polls on the weekend, stand with Viktor Orbán because he stands for you and he stands for all these things.”
Orbán’s policies have been hailed by some American conservative policy experts as a blueprint for how the U.S. should be governed. Dr. Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation think tank, described Orban’s leadership as a “model for conservative governance” in 2024.
As CBS News has previously reported, pro-Orbán conservative think tank the Danube Institute also agreed to host visiting researchers from The Heritage Foundation to study Hungarian policies in various fields in 2023. In February, the United States and Hungary signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement.
Budapest has hosted global far-right leaders and MAGA influencers at the international version of the Conservative Political Action Conference for the past four years. “I do think it’s good that we are collaborating with each other,” CPAC Founder Matt Schlapp told CBS News last year, regarding bringing the conference to Hungary. “I think (Hungary’s) policies on the border and on immigration have changed the whole conversation in Europe.”