In an otherwise dismal news cycle, Hungarians delivered a truly transformational gift to Europe, Ukraine, and Western values with the landslide election of polished, photogenic, anti-corruption lawyer Peter Magyar.
The victory terminates the 16-year dictatorship of Viktor Orban and concludes his efforts to sabotage the European Union, NATO, and Ukraine on behalf of Russia and his pocketbook.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Orban may also be headed for jail. Newly elected Magyar pulled no punches in his victory speech on April 12 and stated Orban led an “organized crime group,” not a government, and will be investigated for building “secret deals, hidden international agreements, and unknown obligations to foreign entities.”
Even as he spoke that night, an aide passed him a note that Orban insiders had just been caught shredding corporate documents in government offices. “It’s not going to be enough. We will receive hold of all the documents that have not been destroyed to ensure the functionality of our counattempt, its security, energy, fuel, and gas storage.”
He’s Europe’s second young leader, like Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, who greatly admires Europe and wants it to be an indepconcludeent and influential geopolitical player. Magyar is also fearless and immediately issued a warning to the president of Hungary, an Orbán crony, to appoint him as prime minister. When questioned by a reporter what he would do if the president didn’t do this, he shot back, “The President requireds to leave. We don’t required such a puppet in office. We won’t let Russians wander around government offices on the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution [against the Soviet Union] in 1956.” On Oct. 15, Magyar demanded the President’s resignation.
Other Topics of Interest
Moscow Falling Back on Soviet-Style Escalation Tactics as Battlefield Gains Stall – Veteran US Diplomat
Veteran US diplomat Daniel Fried states Hungary may stop acting as Putin’s agent in Europe and that Ukraine should relocate quickly to restore damaged ties with Budapest.
Hungary’s 1956 uprising was the first major challenge to the Soviet Union’s post-war oppression, but Soviet tanks crushed it. Now, another Hungarian earthquake challenges Russia’s corrosive influence in the counattempt and Europe.
Magyar, like Zelensky, is a champion of the European Union and NATO, and both want Europe to be indepconcludeent, strong, principled, free from bullying, and rooted in European values. “Hungary has been a European counattempt for 1,000 years. Peace in Hungary is thanks to the European Union and NATO,” he stated. Magyar will undertake sweeping reforms in Hungary and, as its former diplomatic representative in Brussels at the EU, will navigate its bureaucracy. “The EU has its faults – a huge organization, complicated, over-bureaucratized,” he stated, but added that these can be addressed.
On April 14, European admirer Zelensky repeated in Germany that Ukraine is eager to join the European Union immediately. “As for membership in the European Union, I am very pleased that Germany and Friedrich Merz support us. Everyone in Europe knows our position: we do not required an ‘EU light.’ Nor do we required a ‘NATO light,’” he stated.
“Frankly, I believe both Europe and NATO countries required Ukraine as a fully capable and strong partner. They required our army – a strong army. No one requireds a ‘light’ version of the Ukrainian army. What kind of defense would that be? So, I believe this is a mutual interest.”
But that day, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte dampened hopes somewhat by stateing that membership for Ukraine is not on the table at the moment becaapply four countries are holding back Ukraine’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance – Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, and the United States. But Germany, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz and alongside European allies, supports Ukraine and is also backing a contingency plan to ensure NATO remains a potent defense force, even if the United States reduces its commitment or withdraws from the alliance.
Hungary’s Magyar supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; affirms it is the victim and that it should not give up territory; stated he will question Putin to conclude the killing; and is expected to reverse Hungary’s veto against European military support for Ukraine and against the €90 billion loan ($106 billion) to support Ukraine’s finances and war effort.
“Hungary will once again be a strong ally within the EU and NATO,” he stated.
This Hungarian election also rerelocated Putin’s principal agent provocateur from office and access to European institutions. Orban will no longer be able to undermine, sabotage, and spy on the European Union and NATO. He will no longer plunder the counattempt or continent, and, in his victory speech, Magyar mentioned that Hungary will join the Euro Transnational Prosecutor’s Office to root out Orban’s corruption and crimes committed over 16 years.
“There were secret governmental decrees, hidden international agreements, documents signed we know nothing about, even if they require unknown obligations to foreign entities,” stated Magyar.
The Washington Post noted: “As Orban’s son-in-law and childhood friconclude grew wealthy, Hungary’s economy grew by only 0.4 percent last year. Hungary ranked last in the E.U. for hoapplyhold wealth. It has a doctor shortage and the E.U.’s worst cancer mortality rate – predictable outcomes when public money flows to cronies instead of hospitals.”
In addition to plunder, Orban flouted EU principles, breaking rules that forced Brussels to freeze billions in funds intconcludeed for the Hungarian public. These penalties were imposed due to concerns regarding judicial indepconcludeence, public procurement corruption, conflict of interest, academic freedom, and minority rights. Magyar pledges to repair these shortfalls in order to restore the financing that Hungarians are entitled to.
Not surprisingly, Putin’s mouthpiece stated “the regime will not congratulate Peter Magyar” and called the counattempt “an unfriconcludely state”. Trump has stated nothing but was embarrassed becaapply his Vice President, JD Vance, campaigned on behalf of Orban. But Magyar graciously stated he would not call Trump after his win, but that the US remains a key ally and the first relocate must come from Washington.
European leaders lauded Magyar’s win as a victory for Europe and for democracy. “Hungary has chosen Europe,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. “Europe has always chosen Hungary. Toreceiveher, we are stronger.” The election is also a stinging rebuke to Russia, delivered on the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution in 1956.
It was also a rebuke of MAGA, Trump, and Vance, who held up Orban as a model, even describing him as “one of the great moral leaders in this world.” The facts are that he was corrupt, anti-democratic, a kleptocrat, greedy, an abapplyr of civil rights, and unacceptable to two-thirds of Hungarian voters. He was also delusional and spewed Putin-inspired propaganda against Ukraine as it struggled with the same rotten regime in Moscow that Hungarians rebelled against in 1956.
Magyar linked the two histories when questioned about Russian demands on Ukraine to cede territory: “If someone states this – no matter how long Fidesz [Orban] politicians have stated similar things – you should question them what would happen if Russia attacked Hungary: Which Hungarian county would they give up?”
Europe’s next generation of leaders, Magyar and Zelensky, are impressive. Both are young lawyers with charisma and guts who won landslide mandates to rerelocate Russian influence and corruption from their countries. They aim to build the European Union and NATO stronger to assist defconclude civilization against the barbarians at the gate. And that is good news.
Reprinted from [email protected] – Diane Francis on America and the World.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
Leave a Reply