On Politics: The Fall of Orbán, the Rise of Magyar
From The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books
May 7, 2026 · 1h 5m
About this episode
The episode discusses the end of Viktor Orbán's tenure as Hungary's prime minister and the implications of Péter Magyar's election victory.
For more than a decade, Viktor Orbán has stood alongside Trump and Modi as a global figurehead for authoritarian nationalism, and an inspiration to popular strongmen everywhere with his model for the ‘illiberal’ democratic state. But on April 12 his sixteen-year tenure as Hungary’s prime minister came to an end with a surprisingly gracious concession speech to his opponent, Péter Magyar, who won the country’s general election by a landslide. But if Orbán has fallen, will Orbánism collapse with him? James is joined by journalist Dan Nolan and poet and translator George Szirtes to discuss why Orbán was finally voted out and the challenges Magyar faces in meeting his main election promises of tackling corruption and improving the economy. Read Jan-Werner Müller on the Hungarian elections: https://lrb.me/ophungary01 Watch 'Magda's Boy: How George Szirtes invented his mother': https://lrb.me/ophungary02 From the LRB Subscribe to the LRB: https://lrb.me/subslrbpod Close Readings podcast: https://lrb.me/crlrbpod LRB Audiobooks: https://lrb.me/audiobookslrbpod Bags, binders and more at the LRB Store: https://lrb.me/storelrbpod Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Learn more about…
People in this episode
Host: James
Guests: Dan Nolan, George Szirtes
Topics covered
- authoritarian nationalism
- Hungary elections
- political change
- corruption
- economy
- Orbánism
Keywords
- Viktor Orbán
- Péter Magyar
- Hungary
- elections
- authoritarianism
- politics
- corruption
- economy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The London Review of Books, Close Readings podcast, LRB Audiobooks, LRB Store
Books & works: Magda's Boy: How George Szirtes invented his mother, Jan-Werner Müller on the Hungarian elections
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