Is the authoritarian tide in Europe turning? Some good news from Hungary suggests it may be.

Significantly, though it is also bad news for the Trump administration. US Vice President JD Vance openly campaigned for Orban in the lead up to the election.

Donald Trump also joined the campaign saying about Orban: “He’s kept your country good, he’s kept Hungarian people in your country. And he’s done a fantastic job.”

The day before the election, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, that his administration would use “the full Economic Might of the United States” to strengthen Hungary’s economy.

The timing of the election – at a time when Trump is venting demented genocidal nonsense and showing signs of dramatic cognitive decline – is almost certainly significant.

The reality is clear – Trump and Vance – are not only toxic in the US but also in much of the world.

Admittedly though, a VP on the hustings is better than the historical US approach to elections in countries. Coups where the US has been motivated by paranoid fears and misinformation as with the alleged Iraqi Weapons for Mass Destruction.

News outlets are reporting that with 98.74% of the vote counted, Magyar’s Tisza party is projected to have won 138 of the 199 seats in the country’s parliament, giving them a super-majority capable of amending the constitution and key laws, suggesting they would be able to reverse some of the changes made by Orbán and Fidesz, and potentially unlock EU funds.

What’s even better news is that, following French local elections, the European Far Right is not marching to great successes – despite all the predictions that they would.

No doubt US Democrats are hoping Vance has the same impact in his own country.

But there may be a wider movement. Even Keir Starmer and Anthony Albanese, are creeping towards criticism of Trump and withholding support on Iran.

There are many reasons for the setbacks at a time when the Far Right Hungarian Government and some other European parties sharing their view (and are) boasting of transforming society.

Indeed, the major reason for the result was probably not that JD Vance was campaigning for Orban but rather the rebirth of the belief in a civil society.

In Hungary there were echoes of the post-Soviet retreat from Central Europe, the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the mass demonstrations in former Communist countries and the Carnation revolt in Portugal.

Just as the carnations in the barrels of soldiers’ weapons and the rattling of keys in Central Europe (no longer Eastern but back where it once was) created enthusiasm throughout Europe we may be seeing the start of something similar.

We may never see a repeat of the Portugal uprising as the military leader of the push to overthrow the dictatorship was being driven to the centre of the revolt his driver kept stopping at the red lights.

“This is a revolution, f…ng drive through them”, the General said

Meanwhile, things are getting worse for Trump in the US. A new CBS News poll published Sunday found that Trump has suffered an unprecedented collapse in support among what has historically been his single-strongest voter base.

Conducted between April 8 and 10, the CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a “nationally representative sample” of 2,387 adults, and found that among white, non-college-educated voters, Trump’s support fell from 36 points in February of 2025 to minus 4, a staggering 40-point drop.

More broadly, Americans overall disapproved of Trump’s job performance by a margin of 61%, with 39% approving. Additionally, 63% described the condition of the economy as “bad,” and 64% disapproved of Trump’s handling of the U.S. war against Iran, with 62% believing that Trump did not “have a clear plan” for the conflict.

As the Hungarian and French results suggest we may be on the cusp of significant change.

The US polls are showing (see previous blog) just how toxic Trump is and may be encouraging some stiffening of backbones not only in Australia and the UK but around the world as well. We can only hope.