Orbán era swept away by Peter Magyar's election landslide in Hungary — BBC News

[0:00] Opposition supporters in Hungary have been partying late into the night [0:04] after a landslide election victory that swept the country's long-term Prime Minister Viktor Orban from power. [0:10] The man who will become Hungary's next Prime Minister, Petr Madzha, [0:14] has hailed the result as a miracle in Hungarian history. [0:18] He told his supporters they'd taken back Hungary together and toppled the system of Viktor Orban. [0:24] The Prime Minister-elect also promised a peaceful transition to his supporters. [0:30] Earlier, Mr Orban, who's led Hungary for 16 years, said the party would continue to serve the nation from the opposition benches. [0:38] Well, let's get all the latest now from Budapest, and we can join my colleague Rajini Vaidjanathan. [0:42] Rajini, let's talk about mood there, first of all, because it is a new era beginning in Hungary. [0:50] Indeed, a little bit of a tired era for many people that I've encountered on the streets of Budapest this morning, [0:55] because the city really did come to life. [0:58] There were tens of thousands of supporters of the opposition leader. [1:02] The Prime Minister-elect now, Petr Madzha, who gathered on the banks of the River Danube to celebrate a real moment in history. [1:11] Now, I'm joining you, Anita, in front of the country's National Assembly, the Parliament building here. [1:16] And the make-up of that has completely changed overnight now. [1:20] You've got Madzha, who's only led his opposition TISA party for two years. [1:26] Now, the next Prime Minister of this country, and here's another staggering thing to just soak up. [1:33] The TISA party, 24 hours ago, had no members of the Parliament here. [1:39] Now, they have 133. [1:43] So that really does give you a sense of how much we are seeing change. [1:48] Now, as I was saying just then, I was on the banks of the river opposite the National Assembly building as those results were coming in. [1:57] There was a real sense of jubilation and of celebration. [2:00] People knew that there might be a change, that the party might do well. [2:05] They'd seen the opinion polls. [2:07] But then, when the actual results started to come in, when we saw Viktor Orban make that concession speech, the mood really did shift. [2:15] And what was interesting, certainly in urban centres like Budapest, is just how much Hungary's relationship with the European Union had a role. [2:23] Let's have a listen to some of the people that I spoke to. [2:26] I'm so emotional. [2:27] This is history, you know. [2:28] I'm so happy that, you know, we can remain a part of Europe. [2:32] You know, that was a choice between Europe and Asia. [2:35] And now Hungary showed, really, that we want to be a part of Europe. [2:38] We are a European country. [2:40] And we want to remain here. [2:42] It is something we've been waiting for our whole life. [2:45] As young generation, we are incredibly happy and proud. [2:48] Proud for Hungary, that we showed today that we belong to Europe and we will belong to Europe. [2:55] Well, let's pick up on that thought, Rajini. [2:57] I mean, why was Petr Magyar the man for this moment? [3:01] And what exactly will it mean for the relationship with the rest of Europe and, indeed, other parts of the world, too? [3:07] Lots to consider. [3:11] Yeah, indeed. [3:11] It's a really interesting question, isn't it, Anita? [3:13] Because Hungary is a small country and landlocked Europe, the centre of the continent and a population of less than 10 million. [3:22] And yet you have the Kremlin, the White House, European capitals, all watching this race really closely. [3:28] There were many people who felt that Prime Minister Viktor Orban's relationship with people like Russia's Vladimir Putin was just too close and too cosy. [3:36] And on the other hand, they felt that the relationship he had with the European Union, which is at times antagonistic, it wasn't that cordial, was it? [3:43] On things like the issue of Ukraine needed a reset. [3:46] And that's certainly what Prime Minister-Elector Petr Magyar is hoping to do, hoping to reset that relationship. [3:52] We've seen responses and messages from people like the EU's Ursula von der Leyen and France's President Emmanuel Macron as well, [4:00] saying that this does mark the start of a new chapter between Hungary and the EU. [4:04] OK, Rajini, thank you very much for that. Rajini Vajinathan there in Budapest. [4:08] And let's speak now to Paul Adamson, founder of Encompass, an online magazine dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe's place in the world. [4:18] Paul, welcome to the programme. [4:20] And as elections go, this one must be surely one of the most consequential for the shape of the European Union and Europe's place in the world. [4:29] Absolutely. It's quite mind-boggling the extent to which this victory is going to change the landscape of the EU relations. [4:36] I mean, as we all know by now, Hungary for the past 16 years, if not more, has been a major blocking power with inside the European Union [4:43] and been able to stifle progress on a whole range of issues from sanctions packages, aid packages to Ukraine, etc., etc. [4:53] And this is now all going to stop, thanks to this new election victory of Peter Majan. [4:58] Yeah, and Germany, on his notice, has been saying it hopes the EU-Ukraine aid will be released very quickly after this result. [5:06] Viktor Orban most recently had blocked 90 billion euros of aid to Ukraine. [5:12] Russia, on the other hand, is saying it looks for a pragmatic, a continuation of a pragmatic relationship with Hungary. [5:21] So where do you think in the middle of those two hopes will Peter Majan sit? [5:27] Well, it's no secret that Putin has had an unofficial ally around the Council of EU Member States table, [5:34] basically making sure that Orbán, when he was Prime Minister, did Moscow's bidding. [5:41] That will now change. Obviously, Putin has to sound more pragmatic, more diplomatic. [5:46] He's lost a key ally inside the European Union in the shape of Viktor Orban. [5:50] That now has to change. He has to rethink his strategy. [5:53] And for him, it's a major card. He's no longer at his disposition. [5:57] Give us an insight into why Peter Majan's political approach has changed, [6:03] because, of course, he was an insider in Viktor Orban's party previously. [6:07] So why has that happened? And what does that mean more broadly for the right of politics in Europe? [6:16] Well, I suppose we should not forget that originally the new Prime Minister was from the Fidesz party, [6:21] the ruling party, and he is on the right of centre. [6:24] But as you just heard from both your reporter and the people you were interviewing in the streets of Budapest, [6:29] Hungary is fundamentally a pro-European country, especially amongst the young population. [6:33] And Peter Majan was elected to the European Parliament just under two years ago, [6:38] so he knows where the direction of travel is for his country and for Europe, [6:43] and he wants to be part of that mainstream majority. [6:46] So more a sign of pragmatism for him in terms of getting to a position of power rather than an ideological belief? [6:53] Well, I think, to be fair, most heads of government, heads of state in Europe are recalibrating what it means to be a member of this club called the European Union. [7:04] It's going through a pretty much a fundamental rethink of what it's about, what it needs to achieve, [7:09] what its goals are in this new world, which is very unpredictable, as we all know. [7:14] And I think he, in many ways, Peter Majan is part of that new mainstream. [7:18] We'll be right back.