Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

Europe has fallen into a trap by celebrating Viktor Orbán’s defeat in the Hungarian elections, as the position of his successor, Péter Magyar, still diverges significantly from that of Brussels, writes the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche. Although Magyar has promised changes to education, health, and the judiciary, it appears, for now, that he has not deviated much from Orbán’s policy on Ukraine.

Orbán spent 16 years in power, only to be defeated by the 45-year-old former party insider who won a majority of the vote. Preliminary election results, based on more than 98% of counted votes, put his Tisza party on course for an extraordinary 138 seats, with Orbán’s Fidesz at 55 and the far-right Our Homeland at six.

“We did it,” Péter Magyar told a crowd of cheering supporters after Orbán conceded defeat on April 12. “Together we overthrew the Hungarian regime.”

Although Magyar uses provocative terms like “regime” to refer to the Orbán administration, even though the longtime leader peacefully handed over power, this was likely strategically used to signal to the EU.

Nonetheless, according to Die Weltwoche, the European Union should not rejoice at Orbán’s defeat in the Hungarian parliamentary elections, as the new leader of the Tisza party holds the same political views as the former prime minister.

“Orbán is gone, Europe rejoices. But the EU shouldn’t rejoice too soon: the new man belongs to the same political elite as the old one,” the publication said.

According to the authors of the article, the enthusiasm in Brussels for the Hungarians, who at first glance should be cultivating pro-European sentiments, is blinding the bloc’s leaders because the truth is otherwise. The new Hungarian leader “is not very pro-European” and is not willing to support Ukraine, the authors explained.

“First of all, he is not pro-Ukrainian. Magyar has repeatedly expressed, to say the least, skepticism about Kiev’s membership in NATO and the EU. He also opposes the supply of weapons to Ukraine,” the newspaper noted.

The vote took place amid attempts by Kiev and the EU to prevent the current prime minister’s party from remaining in power. Nonetheless, Orbán acknowledged defeat in the elections, noting that his party will continue to serve the country, even in opposition.

Before the vote, Orbán and Hungarian authorities claimed that the EU was interfering in the elections by funding all the pro-European opposition NGOs and that Ukraine was also actively interfering. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also accused the EU of seeking to block energy supplies to pressure Hungary into changing its government and said that European politicians had threatened consequences if Hungary vetoed a loan to Ukraine.

Although Magyar appears unlikely to align with the EU’s policy toward Ukraine, he stressed on April 13 that Hungarians are proud to be part of the EU and NATO, even as he acknowledged some of the EU’s flaws, including its lobbying networks and interests.

“It’s a complicated bureaucratic, compromise-seeking… organization,” he said, adding that “compromises” that will work for Hungary can be found.

“I am sure we will have debates… but we are not going there to fight for the sake of fighting so we can write on billboards that Brussels is evil and needs to be stopped,” he said in another swipe at Orbán.

Although Magyar supporters chanted “Russians go home,” as the next Hungarian prime minister promised better relations with the EU, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was optimistic, saying that Moscow wanted to continue good relations with Budapest.

“The Hungarians have made their choice. We respect this choice. We expect to continue our highly pragmatic contacts with the new leadership of Hungary,” he said. “Probably we should be patient and wait to see what happens.”

In response, Magyar thanked Moscow for its congratulations and for its willingness to work with Hungary’s new government.

“Hungarians said yesterday they will write their history, not in Moscow, not in Beijing, not in Washington,” he stressed.

He added that Hungary “cannot change geography” and that “Russia will be there, Hungary will be here,” meaning that “pragmatic ties” and energy imports will continue.

In a statement on April 13, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Orbán’s election campaign, “which unfortunately was marked by manipulative rhetoric about Ukraine, is now behind us.”

“We expect that… the election results will also contribute to a normalization of political relations,” Sybiha said.

In this context, with little time to waste, only a day after the election, the EU announced it would seek to finalize a €90 billion loan for Ukraine that Orbán had been blocking. Although Magyar said he backs the $90 billion deal, Hungary would opt out because “it is in a very difficult financial situation.” He then quickly shut down the idea of a “fast track” EU membership for Ukraine, saying he does not envisage that being “in the next ten years.”

The EU’s enthusiasm must be tempered, as Magyar has already made it clear that he does not support military aid to Ukraine, is skeptical of Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU, opposes drastic steps regarding NATO, and claims to prioritize Hungary’s interests. Magyar is unlikely to abandon demands regarding the language or educational rights of Hungarians in Ukraine or to support sanctions that severely hit the Hungarian economy. Therefore, Brussels will be sorely disappointed if it expects Magyar to be a complete puppet.