In its coverage of Hungary’s election results, The Wall Street Journal cited Balázs Jarábik’s assessment of the political shift underway. He argued that the outcome reflects not a systemic rupture, but a transition within the system itself: “There’s no regime change here. It’s a generation change.”
Jarábik noted that the narrative that proved effective in 2022 has lost traction: “In 2022, the war was fresh. The narrative worked. This time, many Hungarians see/saw through it.” He also pointed to a strategic miscalculation by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, observing that “Orban focused too much on influencing European politics, and not enough on domestic issues.”