Israel’s ‘rock’ in Europe, anti-Muslim far-right leader Viktor Orbán, defeated in landmark election

Israel has suffered a major political setback in Europe after Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, conceded defeat in a landmark election that ended his 16-year rule and handed a crushing victory to the opposition Tisza party led by Péter Magyar. 

Tisza won 138 of 199 parliamentary seats, giving it a two-thirds majority and the power to begin dismantling much of Orbán’s entrenched political system. Orbán’s defeat followed years of economic stagnation, corruption scandals and growing public anger at his authoritarian style of government.

The result is being viewed not only as a domestic political earthquake in Hungary, but also as a wider repudiation of the far-right axis associated with Orbán, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Orbán had become one of the most prominent international allies of both men, with Trump publicly endorsing him and US Vice President JD Vance travelling to Budapest days before the vote to campaign on his behalf. 

The election was widely seen as a referendum on the anti-Muslim and anti-migrant politics Orbán championed, rooted in ethno-nationalism with Israel viewed as the archetypal model of this exclusionary political vision.

For Israel, Orbán’s removal is seen as especially damaging because he was arguably Netanyahu’s most dependable partner inside the EU. Hungary repeatedly broke with the rest of the bloc over Israel, including refusing to join the other 26 EU foreign ministers in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

READ: Netanyahu in Hungary, isolated from the world

That alliance became even more explicit over the past year. Orbán announced Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court after the court issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant. 

Netanyahu then visited Hungary in defiance of the warrant, and praised Orbán’s decision to leave the ICC as “bold and principled”. Hungary’s parliament later approved the withdrawal bill, making clear that Orbán was prepared to use state policy to shield Israel’s leader from international accountability.

Netanyahu had openly celebrated his ties with Orbán. During previous visits he described him as a “true friend of Israel”, and last month reportedly praised the Hungarian leader as someone who “has been like a rock.” 

That political closeness endured despite long-running criticism of Orbán’s anti-migrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric, which helped make him a hero to sections of the international far right. 

Orbán’s anti-Muslim narrative also aligned neatly with Netanyahu’s worldview. Both leaders presented themselves as defenders of a besieged “Christian” or “Western” civilisation against Muslim migration and political Islam, and both used that framing to justify increasingly authoritarian politics at home and exclusionary policies abroad. 

This ideological overlap helped cement Budapest and Tel Aviv as close strategic partners even when Orbán faced criticism over his xenophobia and democratic backsliding. 

The relationship also gave Orbán useful access to right-wing networks in Washington and strengthened Netanyahu’s efforts to cultivate allies inside Europe willing to blunt criticism of Israel.

READ: A common Enemy: Why Israel is embracing fascism in Europe