This is it, the only image you need to see from Budapest tonight. 16 years of state capture, corruption, misuse of public funds and the gradual erosion of the rule of law is over. Accountability stats tomorrow. Good morning Europe Hungary is back! #HungarianElection2026
🇭🇺🗳️#HungarianElections THREAD 1/2
3:00 pm turnout: 66%
Turnout is already close—four hours before polls close—to where it ended in 2018 and 2022.
I have already written about the structural impact of high turnout, so here is a different aspect.
Reposting this thread for one last time. Early morning participation is already at record high, on track for a record turnout. Happy voting! 🇭🇺
🇭🇺Hungary’s turnout is breaking records: 16.89% by 9am (2022: 10.31%). Areas where the opposition Tisza party did well in last year’s EP vote are overperforming. Urban, strongly anti-Orbán voters—who tend to vote later—are just starting to head to the polls. Follow me for #HungaryElection updates!
#HungarianElection2026: Good morning from Budapest. Early turnout is notably strong: in the first hour of voting (by 7am) participation reached 3.46%. Nearly double the 1.8% recorded at the same time four years ago. On this trajectory, it’s not an especially encouraging signal for Fidesz’s campaign.
With people heading to the polls in less than 24 hours, the question is not only what comes next: but what legacy this model leaves behind, and at what price. (🧵/ end)
The result is a persistent push and pull: a member state formally inside the EU framework, yet often at odds with its core democratic norms, raising difficult questions about enforcement, credibility, and the Union’s ability to respond. (🧵/4)
I also looked at 🇭🇺’s relationship with the 🇪🇺 and how the #ruleoflaw, #judicialindependence, #mediacapture, weakened checks and balances, attacks on civil society and the broader erosion of institutional independence have placed Hungary in an increasingly tense position within the Union.
(🧵/3)
For @istinomer.bsky.social I took a closer look at the past 16 years: focusing on the legal, economic and political model that has shaped 🇭🇺’s trajectory. I unpacked how growth has been sustained through a combo of state capture, #EUfunds, and targeted support for 🍊 cronies and family members. (🧵/2)
For the first time in more than a decade, real political change in #Hungary no longer feels out of reach. The sense of inevitability that has defined Viktor Orbán’s rule, his image as an unchallengeable political force, appears to be cracking. (🧵/1)
english.istinomer.rs/analyses/the...
💥 A bipartisan pair of US senators are set to introduce legislation calling for sanctions to be imposed on senior Hungarian officials involved in obstructing aid to Ukraine. Senators Shaheen (D-NH) and Tillis (R-NC) are set to introduce the legislation this week.
‘Szíjjartó, the foreign minister, made regular phone calls during breaks at EU meetings to provide his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, with “live reports on what’s been discussed” and possible solutions, one of the European security officials said.’
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
Quite a picture from AP:
Viktor Orbán watches from outside the main table as Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to EU leaders via video link.
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has faced “very, very harsh” criticism at the European Council, Sweden’s PM Ulf Kristersson said.
It’s a level of condemnation he says he has never heard at an EU summit before.
Follow our live blog: www.politico.eu/article/make...
EXCLUSIVE: Slovenia’s PM Robert Golob has urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to investigate accusations that Israeli spy firm Black Cube interfered in the country’s election campaign, according to a letter we obtained.
Izraelski obveščevalci v Sloveniji
Predstavnika največje zasebne obveščevalne agencije na svetu, izraelske družbe Black Cube, sta konec decembra pristala v Ljubljani in se sestala z Janezom Janšo.
Piše Borut Mekina, več na www.mladina.si ‼️
Because history does not change when people accept what is. It changes when enough people decide that 'most vagy soha' is not just poetry, but responsibility. For a better tomorrow. For a Hungary worthy of its people again. For a future the next generation can be proud of. 🧵/end
Tomorrow is March 15, the anniversary of the 1848 Revolution. One of the defining moments of Hungarian national identity: a day that symbolises freedom, dignity, self-determination, and the courage to demand a better future. That is why it still matters. 6/🧵
A regime that has only enriched a loyal inner circle while weakening the rule of law, deepening division, and convincing far to many that this is somehow the natural order of things. It is not and it shouldn't be. 5/🧵
That is the legacy of the Orbán era: the hollowing out of democratic institutions, the capture of the state, the normalisation of cynicism, the weaponisation of fear and the steady theft of opportunity from an entire generation. 4/🧵
It was about belonging to a culture of resilience, intellect and creativity. That is why what 🇭🇺 has become in recent years feels so painful. A proud, brilliant and resilient nation has been reduced to a system that serves very few. A country that has been turned into one of 🇪🇺 most corrupt states.3/🧵
I am incredibly lucky to be a Slovenian citizen, but I am also profoundly proud of my Hungarian roots. Hungarian language, culture, literature, theatre, and history have shaped me deeply. I never applied for Hungarian citizenship, because to me being a Hungarian was never about papers. 2/🧵
Less than a month to the 🇭🇺 parliamentary elections. The campaign is brutal. The stakes historic. And yet, I can’t shake one feeling: hope. For the first time since 2010, real change no longer feels impossible in 🇭🇺. Maybe this is my generation’s 'most vagy soha' moment. 1/🧵
As @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu arrives in Belgrade tomorrow, every word, handshake, and photo with those in power will be watched closely by students and 🇷🇸 citizens who, for 11 months, have faced violence while fighting for fundamental rights and democracy. It's time for🇪🇺 to choose a side!
⚖️ Authorities only talk about attacks on police and ignore violence against citizens. Arrest data are withheld, obscuring the scale of repression.
What is happening in Serbia is no longer just repression. It is an organised campaign to crush civic resistance through fear, violence, and propaganda.
🗣️ President Vučić warned of assassinations 'in the streets,' while Speaker Brnabić said the canopy collapse was an act of terrorism meant to trigger a colour revolution.
📰 Pro-govt media compare protesters to Nazis and terrorists, portraying ordinary citizens as violent extremists. (🧵/5)
🔫 Use of firearms by police: Officers were filmed waving pistols during protests, with reports of demonstrators being beaten with weapons.
📹 Intimidation tactics: Police filmed crowds at protests, raising fears of reprisals against participants. (🧵/4)
🪧 Police brutality: In Valjevo, police in riot gear beat two underage young men. This reflects a broader pattern of #excessiveforce nationwide.
🔥 Escalating confrontations: Protesters, angered by repression, set fire to ruling party offices in several cities (Valjevo, #Belgrade, Novi Sad). (🧵/3)
⚠️ Key developments (since mid-August):
🎥 Abuse of detainees: Videos show young protesters forced to kneel against walls. Even a 12-year-old child was detained.
🚨 Sexual violence allegations: Female students who were detained reported being threatened with rape and physically assaulted. (🧵/2)
🚨 Over the past week, the situation in #Serbia has worsened dramatically. Peaceful protests are being met with violence, intimidation, and propaganda. Citizens, including minors, are facing brutal treatment at the hands of the state. #SerbiaProtests (🧵/1)
