What happened to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over the weekend was not a defeat but an electoral catastrophe. After 16 years at the helm of government in Hungary (and with an earlier term between 1998 and 2002), the ultraconservative populist leader of the Fidesz party retained just 55 seats out of the 135 it had held in Parliament in Budapest. The new Tisza party, led by the pro-European conservative leader Péter Magyar, which previously had none, secured 138 of the 199 seats at stake – more than the two-thirds needed to dismantle the architecture of the “illiberal democracy” Orbán had built.
That was the thrust of Magyar’s message last Sunday night, once the results were known: “Hungary has not voted for a change of government, but for a total change of regime,” he declared. Emerging from the same political womb (he held roles within Fidesz and was formerly married to Orbán’s Justice Minister Judith Varga), Magyar managed to unite a fragmented opposition weary of authoritarianism, inflation and scandal. He drove it back onto the streets in mass protests and made history. And now he has a blank slate before him.
Orbán’s defeat represents a setback for the leadership of the global far right – the “Reactionary International”, as scholar Juan Gabriel Tokatlian aptly dubbed it – or what can now reasonably be called the MAGA quadrant, aligned with US President Donald Trump. With one caveat: aside from Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Orbán got there first.
Javier Milei belongs to that world. The President identified with Orbán from the outset. He invited the Hungarian leader to his inauguration in December 2023, one among a line-up that included Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom Orbán openly detests given his close ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. It’s a contradiction Milei has managed to smooth over – he chose to freeze relations with Zelenskyy at the very moment Trump blamed him for Russia’s invasion of his own country.
Milei’s loyalty to Orbán led him, a few weeks back, to attend a leg of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) summit in Budapest, where he was received by the then-Hungarian PM. The visit was prominently covered by the La Libertad Avanza government’s media and wider communications apparatus.
That was one of several shows of support Orbán has received from his global allies ahead of the election, including a visit just before voting day by US Vice-President James David Vance. That same day, Trump posted a forceful message backing Orbán on his social network Truth Social: “My administration is ready to use the full economic might of the United States to strengthen Hungary’s economy, as we have done in the past with our great allies in the past, if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian people ever need it.” It was not enough.
Milei entrusted Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno with a curious final gesture towards the now outgoing premier: in a post on X, Argentina’s top diplomat congratulated Magyar, the winner of Hungary’s election, while wishing Orbán “every success in his role as leader of the opposition.”
Back to Israel
President Milei has another visit to Israel on his agenda too – his third since taking office. It is scheduled for April 19 to 22 and he has been invited to take part in Independence Day events, according to the Jewish News Agency.
Milei will receive the Presidential Medal of Honour, the country’s highest civilian honour, and will take part in a traditional torch-lighting ceremony at Mount Herzl. The Israeli government also expects US President Donald Trump to attend that event on Tuesday, April 21.
That same day would mark the expiry of the fragile two-week truce agreed in the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Talks between Tehran and Washington, held last weekend in Islamabad with Pakistan acting as mediator, ended without agreement. Negotiations are continuing over a suspension of Iran’s nuclear programme. Everything remains provisional.
Milei has forged what he sees as a strategic relationship with Trump and Netanyahu. The Israeli PM’s trajectory mirrors Orbán’s: as the Hungarian would do (for the second time) in 2010, Netanyahu first came to power in 1996 with the backing of Arthur Finkelstein – the now deceased US consultant and one of the “engineers of chaos” described by Giuliano Da Empoli in his book of the same name.
Finkelstein, a gay Jewish New Yorker far removed from the values espoused by Orbán or Netanyahu, devised a ruthless campaign for both men that cast them as true patriots destined to defeat their progressive opponents, who were portrayed in contrast as traitors to the nation. By stoking anger over Muslim immigration and the European Union (Orbán), and contempt towards those deemed not to be authentic Jews (Netanyahu), they consolidated their dominance by fracturing society. The strategies of presidential adviser Santiago Caputo stem from that same universe.
The values Milei claims to represent appear to be facing a setback across the West. Polls had foreshadowed Orbán’s defeat, while far-right forces have suffered electoral reversals in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
Trump’s image is also deteriorating: he posted an image of himself as Jesus Christ this week and attacked Pope Leo XIV, sparking anger. Just over six months before a crucial midterm election, he has put his alliance with the US religious right at risk. He was also rebuked by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an ally now keeping her distance.
Milei’s current difficulties may stem from other causes – or perhaps not entirely. But they are certainly in tune.
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