In the early hours of Monday, the streets of Budapest erupted in jubilation. Strangers high-fived, cars honked, and young Hungarians tore down government billboards as the scale of Viktor Orbán’s electoral defeat became clear. After 16 years of what critics called “illiberal” rule, the nationalist prime minister had been decisively ousted.
“At long last it feels so good to be Hungarian. It’s like a weight lifted off our shoulders,” 25-year-old Csilla Bekesi told AFP on Budapest’s grand boulevard. Andras Szabo, a 22-year-old student who returned from Berlin specifically to vote, said his “wildest dream came true.”
The celebration was epitomized by a video that went viral across European media: Hungary’s incoming health minister dancing with abandon in the streets. Deutsche Welle selected the clip to illustrate the “delirium of joy” that swept through Hungarian cities following the victory of Péter Magyar’s opposition. It was a moment many young Hungarians — who had known no leader other than Orbán for most of their conscious lives — described as nothing short of liberation.
