Hungary’s new government confronts Orbán’s democratic legacy

The brief

Viktor Orbán’s landslide defeat ends 16 years of authoritarian rule, but Hungary’s celebrations quickly give way to a harder question: how can a new government rebuild democracy from within weakened institutions?

Returning to Budapest months after the election, the host finds a mansion linked to oligarch Jule Balos, a physical reminder of the wealth and influence accumulated under Orbán’s system.

Stefania Kapronce outlines proposals for a participatory constitutional process, judicial reform and the recovery of frozen EU funds, while explaining how Orbán reshaped the rules to protect his power.

The transition raises a sharp accountability dilemma: whether corruption and government-sponsored hate campaigns require criminal prosecution, and how a new government can pursue justice without deepening political division.

At an independent conservative newspaper, Lukasz Szaba describes improved access to advertising and hopes for ordinary communication with the government—an early sign that political pressure on the press may be easing.

A new president, the resignation of Orbán’s prosecutor general and proposed term limits suggest movement toward normal politics, but the episode leaves Hungary’s democratic repair unfinished.