On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we're discuss the historic parliamentary elections in Hungary.
Last Sunday, with nearly 80 percent turnout, voters in delivered a crushing defeat to far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, ending his 16-year hold on power.
According to the Guardian, led by Péter Magyar, the centre-right party won 138 of the parliament’s 199 seats, giving it the power to amend the constitution and potentially dismantle many of the key pillars that had sustained Orbán’s "illiberal democracy."
The election result was due, in part, to the mobilization of young people who voted against Orbán’s government. Many of them had come of age as the country plunged in press freedom rankings, faced accusations of no longer being a full democracy and became the most corrupt country in the EU.
In recent months, Orbán, 62, had been endorsed by right-wing and far-right leaders ranging from France’s Marine Le Pen to Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Donlad Trump.
Guest:
Flora Garamvolgyi, journalist covering Central and Eastern Europe who writes about Hungary for The Guardian
Resources:
The Guardian: ‘Now I’m hopeful’: Hungarians welcome the morning after 16 years of Orbán rule
The AP: Photos of young Hungarian voters who helped end Prime Minister Orbán’s grip on power
The New Republic: Hungary’s New Leader Reveals Viktor Orbán Was Paying CPAC
