7 Days of World Events

Orbán’s Defeat Irks Right-Wing Populists Across Europe

In Budapest, the European flag is being raised again under Magyar.(Bild: AFP/ATTILA KISBENEDEK)

“Let’s follow Orbán’s lead!” FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl would rather forget this election recommendation today. Giorgia Meloni and Geert Wilders have also seen their momentum come to an end. Have the right-wing populists already shot their bolt? Foreign policy expert Kurt Seinitz analyzes. 

Viktor Orbán, the great role model of Europe’s right-wing populists, has been voted out by his own people. A vote of no confidence by the people is pretty much the worst thing that can happen to populists, given that they see themselves as having a special relationship with the people. An AfD “Rambo” once boasted in the Bundestag, drunk with victory: “We will hunt them down (the government)!”