‘The extremely happy part of the crowd’: Hungarian arts figures hope for change after 16 years of Orbán rule

Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán was voted out after 16 years in power when Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party won a landslide in the 2026 parliamentary election, prompting celebrations in Budapest and optimism among parts of the arts community. Gallery founder Margit Valkó of Kisterem said progressive cultural figures were “the extremely happy part of the crowd,” and artist János Sugár described relief that governance could return to “normal.” Artists cited Orbán-era cultural policies as hostile to contemporary and critical art, pointing to measures such as the 2021 “child protection” law restricting LGBTQ+ themed public assemblies and its use in 2023 to dismiss the director of the Hungarian National Museum. While analysts caution that Magyar, a former Fidesz member, may not bring rapid change, he has announced plans to suspend Hungary’s state-controlled media, and Valkó highlighted uncertainty over the future influence of the government-backed Hungarian Academy of Arts.

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