A dramatic political upheaval took place on Sunday evening in Hungary when opposition leader Péter Magyar won the elections, ousting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power.

The dramatic news of Orbán’s defeat was met with great concern in the halls of power in Jerusalem. For 16 years, Orbán was widely seen as Israel’s closest and most dependable ally within the European Union—and often its lone defender.

His close personal relationship with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu evolved into a strategic asset, enabling Israel to fend off anti-Israel EU decisions, from condemnations of Israeli policy to attempts to impose diplomatic or economic sanctions.

For Israel, Orbán’s departure means the loss of an automatic veto in the EU Council. Under his leadership, Hungary repeatedly stood alone against the other member states to shield Israel’s interests and block positions hostile to Israel.

Péter Magyar campaigned on returning Hungary to the European mainstream and repairing relations with EU institutions. Under his leadership, Budapest will align itself more closely with common EU positions—a shift that could leave Israel more vulnerable to diplomatic pressure from Brussels.

Magyar is not considered overtly hostile toward Israel, but he represents a new generation of Hungarian leadership that espouses the rule of law and liberal democratic norms—values that previously put Orbán at odds with the EU.

Israeli officials expect cooperation in security, cyber, and economic spheres to continue due to shared interests. However, the automatic political backing Israel enjoyed under Orbán is likely to give way to a more measured—and at times critical—relationship.

More broadly, the shift in Hungary effectively dismantles the Visegrád Group—Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia—as a pro-Israel bloc that served as a buffer within Europe. Together with political changes in Poland, Israel is left without a reliable anchor in Central Europe.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar quickly congratulated Magyar, writing on X: “We look forward to continuing to work together on further strengthening the good relations between our two countries and expanding our cooperation in different fields of mutual interests.”

“We thank Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government for their friendship and steady support of Israel and Jewish life in challenging times.”

Netanyahu has not yet commented on the election results.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)