Fidesz Grapples with Defeat, Leadership Uncertainty, and Possible Dissolution

In the April parliamentary elections, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz suffered a historic loss to Péter Magyar’s Tisza party, ending 16 years of governing with a super-majority. A party insider reports that Tisza now enjoys nearly 70 % support in opinion polls, while Fidesz’s rating has slipped below 20 %. Following the defeat, Orbán resigned his seat after 36 years in the National Assembly, though he was re-elected as party president in May and tasked with charting a new direction.

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Leaked internal questionnaires reveal that Fidesz members are debating several paths: a full reorganisation, a re-branding without Orbán, or outright dissolution and the creation of a new conservative party. Party spokesperson Bertalan Havasi dismissed dissolution as “unimaginable” and called it “the greatest madness” to discard the Fidesz name.

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The summer saw a wave of senior departures. Former transport minister János Lázár resigned his parliamentary mandate; former parliamentary group leader Gergely Gulyás stepped down after a constitutional amendment barred him from the 2030 election; former foreign minister Péter Szijjártó left politics to join Chinese carmaker BYD; and former communications chief Antal Rogán withdrew from public life. Analyst Szabolcs Dull notes that “each departure can be explained by the individual politician’s circumstances, but all of these moves work against Fidesz’s interests.”

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Orbán’s inner circle—son-in-law István Tiborc, father Gyozo Orbán, and longtime associate Lorinc Mészáros—has faced scrutiny for lucrative state contracts and property deals, including a luxury estate near Budapest. Party members have yet to receive satisfactory answers to corruption allegations, and Dull argues that the enrichment of these figures “must be discussed” as part of any renewal.

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He emphasized continuity, stating that the party’s immediate task is to prepare for government and maintain its role in the European Parliament’s Patriots for Europe group.

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• “I personally find it unimaginable that Fidesz should not exist, and should not exist as Fidesz,” — Bertalan Havasi, party spokesperson

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• “The fact that Fidesz is raising the possibility of its own dissolution matters, because it shows this is among the leadership's scenarios – and Orbán himself has spoken in movement-like terms,” — Szabolcs Dull, political analyst

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• “Each departure can be explained by the individual politician's circumstances. But all of these moves work against Fidesz's interests,” — Szabolcs Dull, political analyst

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• “By losing his power and voting rights at the European Council, Orbán is now significantly weaker among the Patriots," Dull said.” — Szabolcs Dull, political analyst

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