Hungary Has Done It

The news came as a trickle, and then all at once. 9 hours behind, I refreshed news sites, checked stories, and messaged friends in Budapest. Waiting for the final word. Would this be the election that finally removed Orbán after 16 straight years of consolidating power?

The record-breaking turnout (over 70% of Hungarians!) was an encouraging indicator, but I was still holding my breath. I remember the hopeful buzz of the elections in 2018, people talking on the streets, encouraging each other, speaking of change. I remember the crushed hopes the next morning. I perceived a slight air of resignation during the election day in 2022. But tonight. Could tonight be different?

Falling in love with Budapest was effortless. And while living there for seven years I had the chance to fall in love with Hungary, as well. When I close my eyes and think of happiness, many of those memories are irrevocably colored by the soul of this country. But as a Western foreigner with a U.S. passport (and later U.S. income), I got to experience the highlights of Budapest, while life was quite different for many Hungarians. Hungarians that had to struggle with poverty, lack of options, a difficult public healthcare system, and more–true in Budapest but especially beyond.

Living in Hungary, I’d hear sentiments bemoaning the “brain drain” of the country. Of students who would get a very fine education and then find jobs abroad to make more money than they could ever hope to at home. 

But I met many who loved their country and who would love to stay. Who would love to know their family would be taken care of by the healthcare system, who would love to get a job that would let them support themselves and save, and who would love a government that has the people’s interests at heart, rather than the interests of a very (and very rich) few.

And so when I saw the election stories unfolding in real time, the parties in the streets, the tears and hugs, that one politician dancing at Batthyány Tér, the cheers that could be heard from a balcony districts away, I cheered along. I’m only a foreigner who had a chapter in Budapest, and I know I don’t have the same understanding as Hungarians who have grown up in and lived this. But to see such massive change in the face of a game that seemed rigged to the core, well that’s nothing short of inspirational. Hungarians have always been good at revolutions, after all. You showed up, Hungary, and you brought hope with you.