Hungary’s Orban calls for party ‘renewal’ after vote loss

A staff member adjusts an EU-flag beside Hungarian flags at the HUNGEXPO Congress and Exhibition Center in Budapest, Hungary, April 13, 2026. (AFP)

• Orban was defeated in election after 16 years in power

BUDAPEST: Outgoing Hungarian nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban on Thursday urged a “complete renewal” of his party following his crushing election defeat after 16 years in power.
“We cannot continue the way we have been operating until now,” he told YouTube channel Patriota streamed live in his first interview after the loss.
“A complete renewal is needed, and this applies not only to (Orban’s party) Fidesz, but to the entire national side,” he said.
Orban lost on Sunday to political newcomer, conservative pro-EU Peter Magyar, whose party won a two-thirds parliamentary majority in a vote that saw a record turnout.