In the end, the biggest surprise wasn’t just how resoundingly Viktor Orban was ejected from power but how swiftly the Hungarian prime minister conceded the termination of his 16-year reign.
As the sun set over the Danube on Sunday, with polls closed at 7 p.m., an eerie quiet had descended on Budapest. Two hours later, it gave way to an eruption of jubilation — honking cars, cheering in the streets and fireworks over the river — as results began to trickle in and rapidly pointed to a landslide.
Turnout smashed records. An entire generation of young Hungarians who have grown up under Orban’s iron-clad rule proved decisive in turning the tide.
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