U.S. conservatives watch nervously as Orban faces tough test

U.S. conservatives have long pointed to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as proof that a Western leader can crack down on immigration, defy global institutions and wage war on “woke” liberalism – and still win elections.



But as Hungary heads toward an April 12 parliamentary election, some of Orban’s most enthusiastic admirers in the U.S., including President Donald Trump, are confronting a once-unthinkable prospect: after 16 years in power, Europe’s champion of “illiberal democracy” could be voted out of office.



Defeat for Orban would reverberate well beyond Hungary, casting doubt on the durability of a political system – marked by hardline nationalism and an erosion of democratic checks – that some on the American right have touted as a blueprint for reshaping Western democracy.



It would also come as momentum appears to be slowing for some of Europe’s far-right parties, with Trump’s unpopularity increasingly seen as a liability among European voters.



Opinion polls show Orban and his Fidesz party face the toughest electoral challenge since returning to power in 2010. In most independent surveys, they trail the center-right Tisza party, led by Peter Magyar.