BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Before losing in an on Sunday to bring an end to his 16-year rule, Prime Minister was the dominant force in Hungary’s political life for two decades, commanding the loyalty and admiration of millions.
The European Union鈥檚 longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, he took a long road from his early days as a liberal, anti-Soviet firebrand to the nationalist admired by the global far right today.
Though Orb谩n was by the center-right Tisza party and its leader, the pro-European reformer , many of his followers still see him as one of the greatest leaders in Hungary’s history, and he retains a significant base of support 鈥� more than 2.3 million people cast ballots for his nationalist-populist Fidesz party.
Standing out among Orb谩n’s believers is 脕kos Szil谩gyi, one of the prime minister’s most prominent and visible backers. The 61-year-old Szil谩gyi is frequently seen in the front row of Orb谩n’s rallies and marches, and has gained notoriety in Hungary for the colorful T-shirts he designed depicting Orb谩n as 鈥渢he leader of Europe.鈥�
鈥淚’m not a Fidesz supporter … I鈥檓 an Orb谩nist,鈥� Szil谩gyi told The Associated Press in an interview in Budapest two days after the election. 鈥淗ungarians rarely get a man like him. You may love him or hate him, but I think everyone acknowledges that he鈥檚 a genius.鈥�
From liberal to nationalist
Beloved by many older and more rural Hungarians and reviled by detractors, Orb谩n has emerged as the country’s most consequential leader since its transition to democracy at the end of the Cold War.
Born in 1963, Orb谩n grew up in a modest household in rural Felcs煤t, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) outside Budapest. A gifted student and , he studied law and later went to Oxford to study political science under a scholarship awarded by a foundation run by George Soros 鈥� the Hungarian-born financier that Orb谩n would later .
In 1988, Orb谩n co-founded Fidesz, originally a liberal, anti-communist youth party. The following year as a 26-year-old law student, he gave a fiery speech before tens of thousands, demanding Soviet troops leave Hungary 鈥� a bold move during the waning days of the Communist era.
After first entering parliament in 1990 as head of the Fidesz caucus, he became one of Europe’s youngest-ever prime ministers when he won a national election in 1998 at the age of 35. But as Hungary’s political dynamics changed and other liberal parties emerged, he began steering Fidesz to the right, transforming it into a vehicle for increasingly nationalist conservatism.
Many observers view the election in 2002, when he lost to Hungary’s Socialist party, as a turning point in Orb谩n’s approach to power. Speaking to Fidesz members afterward, he set the agenda for major changes that he would introduce once back in office.
鈥淲e’ve only got to win once, but we’ve got to win big,鈥� he said.
The Orb谩n era
It took eight years of leading the opposition in parliament, but that big win finally came. Orb谩n rode discontent over the fallout from the 2008 global financial crisis, as well as scandal and mismanagement by the Socialist government, to return as prime minister in 2010. Fidesz won a two-thirds majority in parliament.
It marked a turning point. With its overwhelming mandate, Fidesz set to work reshaping Hungary by unilaterally writing a , rerigging the electoral system and .
Meanwhile, Orb谩n began siphoning public contracts, largely financed by the EU, into companies owned by loyalists. Those loyalists in turn and forced others into closure. By the end of the decade, it was estimated that Fidesz and its allies controlled up to 80% of Hungary’s private media market.
Using the power and resources of the state, Orb谩n also has transformed public media into a mouthpiece for his party, and spent billions on state-funded communication 鈥� billboards, ads and letters to households 鈥� to boost his narratives. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has
Despite the EU and international watchdogs sounding the alarm 鈥� the European Parliament declared Hungary an in 2022 鈥� Orb谩n’s supporters praised him as a defender of Christian values and national sovereignty in the face of globalization, mass migration and what he describes as an oppressive EU.
Appearing to revel in , Orb谩n built and enacted , casting migrants and refugees as part of a globalist ploy to “replace” Europe’s white population.
Szil谩gyi, Orb谩n鈥檚 supporter, firmly agrees with his approach to immigration and to the EU, which he said has 鈥渃ompletely strayed from its original principles.鈥�
鈥淭hey accuse Hungary of rejecting European values,” he said of the EU, adding that the 27-nation bloc itself had “rejected every existing European value that has existed so far, and from which the Christian-based Europe grew.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I support Viktor Orb谩n. Because he was able to stand up to them. He succeeded so well that they鈥檝e now politically beheaded him,鈥� he said.
A friend of Trump and Putin
Orb谩n’s government has frequently clashed with Brussels over corruption, media freedom, judicial independence and . More recently, it has to support Ukraine and sanction Russia over its full-scale invasion.
The bloc has in funding to Hungary over . In response, Orb谩n has campaigned heavily against the EU, comparing it to the Soviet Union, which had dominated Hungary for more than four decades.
Orb谩n also has cultivated close ties with like-minded leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He’s made , predicting a 鈥減atriotic鈥� takeover of EU institutions.
Among the more than a dozen custom T-shirts in Szil谩gyi’s pro-Orb谩n collection, several depict the likenesses of Trump and Orb谩n, declaring them 鈥減eacemakers鈥� and “leaders of the free world.”
Szil谩gyi has been a regular attendee of the Hungarian iterations of the Conservative Political Action Conference, and in 2022 traveled to Dallas for the national CPAC event. He was also present in Washington in February for Trump’s .
Despite Orb谩n’s historic loss, Szil谩gyi said, his conservative political community will continue to back him, even if he isn’t sitting in the prime minister’s chair.
鈥淚 say that the people will stand by Orb谩n, and if he needs them, they鈥檒l be there for him,鈥� he said.
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