On April 12, 2026, the Budapest wall fell. The Respect and Freedom Party (Tisza) led by Péter Magyar ended the 16-year rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Hungary. They obtained an absolute majority in Parliament, with 138 seats out of 199, compared to 55 for the ruling coalition, Fidesz and its Christian-democrat ally. “The truth has defeated the lie,” exclaimed the winner on the election night in front of his supporters gathered in Budapest. “Hungary has made history today.”
Signs of this earthquake were looming. While Viktor Orbán exuded confidence, his oligarch friends were safeguarding their fortunes. On March 26, 2026, the independent media outlet “444.hu” revealed that Ádám Matolcsy, son of the former president of the Hungarian central bank, was transporting his vintage cars and luxury furniture to the United Arab Emirates. That same day, the weekly magazine “HVG” reported that Lőrinc Mészáros, the richest man in Hungary who attributed his wealth to “God, luck, and Viktor Orbán”, emptied the cash register of one of his companies and transferred the amount to his personal account.
