if you want a shot of optimism remember that ten years ago Victor Orban's position seemed unassailable and today he and his movement are failing.

April 11, 2026 - 19:00 UTC

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Lord I see what you've done for others...
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oh no does this mean we're gonna have to take rod dreher back
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I want him to fall down stairs. For five miles.
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Budapest has no love for Orban - people or the authorities
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I can’t wait to see what kind of January 6 awaits…
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a socio-political prostate the global far-right has been milking for years now
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I want to be hopeful, but we saw reports about sad Trump rallies a lot during his campaign in 2024.
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Here’s hoping it doesn’t take us nine more years to rid ourselves of our own dictator.
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So what happens when he still wins?
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Kansas 10 years ago too
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wisconsin too
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brownback?
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I always get disappointed when I accidentally get a little optimistic. But it's starting to sound like a bunch of the people that Orban paid to rig the election just took his money and wandered off to go vote for the other guy without bothering to actually do much rigging.
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“Oft evil will shall evil mar.”
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the shot of pessimism here is the 10 years part.
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Let's pop the champagne after the results...
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Captain Bedbug strikes again.
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Also the efforts the US is putting in with support from Rubio and Vance seems to be degrading his support. That is hopeful in a lot of ways.
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the couch fucker was the final straw
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Hungary is more poised to break from a long period of rightwing control than Texas.
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The party that seems to be replacing him is still pretty right wing, just not quite as far right as Fidesz.
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The question is can he hold power despite his unpopularity
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The Vance Touch of Death
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I was going to say, "But 10 years!"
Oh wait, we're right there!
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And notably this failing is after he consolidated his hold over the media, so it shows that media control alone can't keep fascism in power
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And high up Fidesz people are resigning
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www.newsweek.com/viktor-orban-hungary-parliamentary-election-poll-11815096
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Gonna have to change his name to Loser Orban, inshallah.
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but he has the full-throated endorsement of JD Vance! how could he possibly fail
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Oh, he met JD Vance? That'll be the problem. It never goes well.
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Orban has been very unpopular in Budapest for a while. He gets most of his support from the hinterland.
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Orban, simply put, is bad at his job and at some point lying about it doesn't cut it anymore. Trump is speedrunning the same process.
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Something extraordinary is happening, 4 hours before the polls close, and 66% of the eligable voters already voted. 13 points more than ever at this hour and only 4 points away than the maximum at poll closing.
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74% at 2 hours to go. Insane.
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We can't wait even months more with Dementia Don and his inhumane yes-men in charge.
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In the 1800s, the confederacy had a reinforcement problem.

Today, it still does.
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Competitive authoritarianism is still competitive, as it turns out
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It takes a while, but when we finally hit the part of the "unsustainable" curve in politics where we can see the change happen I pop some corn and grab a chair
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My biggest worry about Hungary is when Orban loses and does his own Jan 6 with the backing of the US.
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The EU would not recognize him as leader, I assume
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This is my fear as well. As a prelude to what November will look like here.

The US and Russia are both poised to help him retain power. Can't wait to see the gymnastics that our right-wing uses to support our intervention and just how far it will go in fracturing the EU and NATO.
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This would precipitate an immediate and fundamental crisis in NATO. The US would have openly declared itself an active enemy of European democracy. The troops stationed here would instantly take on the appearance of an occupying army. Things would get very ugly very quickly.
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Yeah he's not going to take a loss with quiet dignity, that's a guarantee
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I just hope that the vote is fair enough to remove him
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Don't worry, once Orban's sharing a flat with Assad, they'll just move onto someone else like Nico to doom over.
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You are assuming Orban will lose. I think he will win and destroy the last few shreds of democracy in Europe.
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The trick with democracy is not who won, but that the result is considered widely to be legitimate. I get the sense that this will be the case in Hungary, but may not be the case in the US.

TBC, this does not preclude actively opposing a legitimately elected government that is fascist.
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10 years? Try 3 or 4.
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