Speaking at his party’s Fidesz congress over the weekend, Viktor Orban received an overwhelming show of support from party delegates, according to Junge Freiheit. Out of 737 delegates present, 729 voted in favor of his re-election as party president, with zero votes against and only eight abstentions.

In his speech, Orban described himself as a “Kuruc,” a reference to the 17th and 18th-century rebels in the Kingdom of Hungary who rose up against Habsburg rule. He reflected on his political journey back to 1988, when as a young student he co-founded Fidesz as what he saw as Hungary’s last chance to avoid being “swallowed and digested” by the Western globalized liberal world.

Orban acknowledges strategic mistake

The former prime minister acknowledged that major crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and mass migration into Europe, had posed enormous challenges for Hungary. While his supporters fought bravely, they ultimately laid down their arms in the parliamentary elections in April. He now fears that liberals will have free rein and that foreign interests will plunder the country.

After the electoral defeat, Orban revealed that he had considered resigning from the party leadership out of a sense of honor, accepting responsibility for the loss. In hindsight, he identified a major strategic mistake: failing to properly address corruption allegations raised by the opposition Tisza party.

Renewal of the party’s younger generation

Despite the setback, Orbán ruled out stepping down for now, stating his intention to hand over a modernized and victorious party to the younger generation. He called for a renewal of Fidesz leadership, urging people in their 30s and 40s who are ready to dedicate 30 or 40 years of their lives to serving the country to step forward.

After the vote, Orban thanked supporters on Facebook with a post captioned “Hazamat szolgalom” — “I serve my homeland.”