Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule in Hungary has come to an end with him conceding defeat in the election to his rival Peter Mayer, who secured 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament, a majority that will give him broad powers to push through major reforms.

Hours after the result, Politico attempted to break down who is winning and who is losing after Hungary’s historic result.

The winners

The first winners, according to Politico, are EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa. “European Commission President Ursula and the European Council president can now say goodbye to one of the EU’s most unyielding leaders, who used his veto on crucial Brussels decisions, including financial support for Ukraine,” Politico writes.

As the paper points out, Orban has also been one of Brussels’ most vocal critics, reinforcing Euroscepticism, undermining the rule of law at home and repeatedly resisting EU legislation.

Politico says the Ukrainians have also partly won, as this year alone Hungary’s outgoing prime minister vetoed a €90 billion loan to Ukraine that was agreed to by European leaders in December 2025 while Kiev needs the funding to continue to deal with the Russian invasion.

Volodymyr Zelenski congratulated Mayar stating that Ukraine seeks good relations and is ready for cooperation, however the new Hungarian prime minister has said he opposes sending Hungarian weapons or money to Ukraine as well as the country’s rapid accession to the EU.

Hungary’s young people are the third winners, as before the election 2/3 of Hungarians under 30 wanted Orbán’s departure. It is also indicative that the celebrations in the streets of Budapest after Magyar’s victory were dominated by young people, as many of them said they would leave the country if Orbán was re-elected.

The winners included journalists, who under Orban faced great difficulties, as the outgoing Hungarian prime minister had taken control of 80 percent of the media.

Doctors are also expected to benefit, as Mayar promised to increase public spending by 1 billion euros a year in the health sector.

The losers

Big losers according to Politico are Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. The US vice president visited Budapest to support Orbán, while the US president had repeatedly supported him. However, Orban’s defeat is a blow to the White House, which is losing a key ally in Europe.

Businessmen and think tanks that had backed Orban’s Fidesz party also joined the ranks of the losers as they risk losing funding and privileged access to European funds.

Before the election, Mayar had said he would create a mechanism to recover public wealth and fight corruption.

Along with Trump, Vladimir Putin lost an important ally within the EU as well, as dozens of reports in the past period highlighted the close Hungarian-Russian contacts, even at the level of exchanging critical information.

Orban’s defeat, Politico writes, is a blow to the European far-right and nationalist parties such as Marine Le Pen in France and Vox in Spain, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni loses an ally in the Brussels negotiations.