Hungary after Orbán: The real work starts now
Op-Ed By Rémy Bonny
With Viktor Orbán conceding defeat to Péter Magyar, Hungary stands at a historic crossroads. For the first time in 16 years, there is a genuine opening to restore democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights.
But moments like this are fragile. And celebrating too soon is risky.
A change in government does not automatically mean a change in system.
For years, Hungary has been reshaped into an so-called ‘illiberal’ state. Not just through laws, but through institutions, stolen Hungarian and EU taxpayer money and deeply embedded networks of influence. If Ursula von der Leyen rushes to normalize relations and release funding without strict conditions, it risks entrenching rather than dismantling that system.
The real work starts now.
At Forbidden Colours, we see this moment not as the end of a political era, but as the beginning of a democratic test: for Hungary and for Europe. And we are clear about what must come next.
Dismantling the legal architecture of discrimination
At the heart of Hungary’s democratic backsliding lies a dense web of legislation targeting LGBTIQ+ people and undermining fundamental rights.
This architecture must be dismantled in full.
The so-called “propaganda law”, which bans the depiction of LGBTIQ+ people in public life, must be repealed. The ban on Pride, which criminalizes peaceful assembly, must be lifted. The prohibition on single-person adoption, designed explicitly to exclude rainbow families, must be reversed. Legal gender recognition must be restored. The “heartbeat law” must be repealed.
Equally urgent is the need to revisit Hungary’s constitutional framework. The current “Supreme Law” enshrines discrimination by limiting family to heterosexual marriage and embedding a narrow, “Christian” vision of society. A democratic Hungary cannot be built on a constitution that excludes part of its own population.
Breaking the power of parallel structures
Yet laws are only one part of the system Orbán leaves behind.
Over the past decade, vast public resources have been transferred into private hands aligned with the regime. Institutions such as the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) have received enormous state-backed assets, which are now used to shape political narratives and influence debates far beyond Hungary’s borders, especially in Brussels. Similarly, the Danube Institute has become a hub for training and connecting authoritarian-minded actors across Europe and the United States.
If left untouched, these structures risk becoming a “state within the state”, allowing Orbán’s ideology to persist long after his electoral defeat.
They must be dismantled, defunded or brought under full democratic oversight.
Investigating foreign influence
There is also a broader geopolitical dimension that cannot be ignored.
Hungary under Orbán did not operate in isolation. Networks such as the World Congress of Families have played a key role in connecting Hungarian actors to a transnational ecosystem of anti-LGBTIQ+ groups, many of which have documented links to Russian influence operations.
A thorough investigation into how these networks operated and the role played by political figures such as Katalin Novák is necessary not only for accountability, but for safeguarding the European Union itself.
Because what happened in Hungary is not just a domestic story. It is a case study in how democracy can be hollowed out from within, and Russia played an important role in that.
Rebuilding a pluralist democracy
At the same time, dismantling is not enough. Hungary will need to rebuild.
This means investing in independent civil society, ensuring a genuinely pluralist media landscape and restoring an education system free from ideological control. It means creating the conditions for an open society in which all citizens, including LGBTIQ+ people, can live freely and equally.
This is where the European Union has a crucial role to play.
EU funding should not simply return. It should be strategically deployed to support democratic renewal tied to clear milestones, transparency and accountability.
No money without real change
The temptation in Brussels will be to celebrate this political shift as a success and move quickly towards normalization.
That would be a mistake.
At Forbidden Colours, we are clear: this is what we demand from the European Commission before a single euro is released.
If funding flows without guarantees that the structures of authoritarianism are dismantled, the European Union will not be supporting democratic transition: it will be financing its illusion.
Hungary has been given a second chance.
Now Europe must ensure it is not wasted.
No money without real change.
