By Xhabir Deralla

Nine years after the fall of a regime – the one in my country – I couldn’t hide my joy at Orbán’s fall.
But experience has taught me this: victories can fade. Systems resist.
So I celebrate – but with extreme caution.

The Kremlin gave it everything it had. Balkan allies and business partners were at its service. Donald Trump and his vice president rushed in to help, bringing with them all their MAGA theatrics.

For months, he waged a fierce campaign against an imaginary enemy—Ukraine. He accused its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of interfering in the electoral process. A country fighting for its survival and freedom was recast as a threat. Reality was twisted beyond recognition, as it always is by those who despise democracy.

Aleksandar Vučić tried to assist with an alleged “terrorist” attack. Hristijan Mickoski and his entourage lent support through their agitprop digital machinery. Milorad Dodik. Janez Janša. The entire deck of authoritarian populism, spread across Europe and the Balkans, was mobilized to keep a regime in power.

A regime—not a single person.

Viktor Orbán is not just a politician. He is the architect of a model of governance that does not depend on a single person or a single party. It is a carefully constructed and systematically reinforced system, defended through division, fear, corruption, and coercion. It is a model of rule in which institutions are hollowed out and stripped of meaning, the media are reduced to mere tools, and elections have become a controlled procedure—a staged performance.

The success of Péter Magyar is not an ordinary electoral victory. This is a turning point.

Still, experience compels a note of caution. This is not the end of Orbán’s story. It may be a good beginning—but it will require determination and an uncompromising approach. Hungary has the advantage of being a member of the European Union, and therefore the chance to truly step toward a European democratic future—one that was stalled for 16 years while Orbán sat on the throne of power.

The citizens of Hungary have decided to bring an end to the era of this autocrat. That is a fact. A historical fact. After 16 years, a political construct that seemed untouchable has fallen. Whether the system he installed will fall as well depends on many factors.

It is true. Viktor Orbán, as of today, belongs to the past.

But his system does not—at least not yet.

After 16 years in power, he leaves behind something far more dangerous than a political party: a network. Deeply rooted, institutionalized, and conditioned to survive. A judiciary that is not independent. Regulatory bodies that are not neutral. A media environment that is distorted. Business elites bound by political loyalty.

This does not disappear in a single election night. It is dismantled slowly.

What can—and should—be expected now is a prolonged period of resistance from the entrenched structures of Orbán’s regime. His minions will resort to sabotage and quiet obstruction. That is why the real struggle is only just beginning.

What happened tonight is a victory for the voters—but starting tomorrow, it will become a daily test for the institutions. And for those who will be part of the structures of power. A number of difficult questions remain for Péter Magyar and the government he will form after this spectacular electoral success.

Will he have the strength to dismantle the system without creating new threats to democracy? Will he have the courage to restore freedom and the rule of law without instrumentalizing them? Will he remember that trust is built more slowly than it is lost?

History offers no easy answers.

But tonight, at least for a moment, Hungary breathes differently. Tonight, Hungary celebrates. And so do all those who believe in democracy—we call each other, congratulate one another, as if this were our own victory. Those who understand what propaganda means, and the consequences it carries, are celebrating too.

This victory carries weight. The fall of Viktor Orbán is not just a Hungarian story. It is a signal—a powerful beam of light.

Today, Hungarians sent a message to all those who believed that the model of “controlled democracy” was the new normal—and to those who thought that media control, disinformation, and political aggression were enough to secure power indefinitely.

Well—they are not.

And now, at the very end, one question that many will be asking tonight—from Moscow to Washington, from Bratislava to Budapest, Belgrade, and Skopje…

The question is: WHO’S NEXT?

Xhabir Deralla is a journalist, analyst, and President of CIVIL – Center for Freedom.

This article was originally written in Macedonian and translated into English with AI assistance.

© Xhabir Deralla / CIVIL – Center for Freedom, 2026.
Republishing permitted with prior written consent.

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