Hungary's outgoing prime minister Viktor Orban reportedly told insiders behind closed doors that the Fidesz brand may be too damaged to win future elections under its current name after the crushing election loss last month, and that renewal must come from within smaller national-conservative communities outside the formal party structure, according to multiple sources cited by conservative, independent Magyar Hang.hu. In a new poll by Median, 65% of respondents agreed that the former prime minister should face prosecution for the crimes committed during his terms in office.

Sources speaking anonymously to the conservative weekly said the veteran leader is aware that the 12-18 month period set aside for the party’s renewal could also mark the end of his political career. He reportedly told Fidesz insiders that his presence could become an obstacle to a successful renewal.

One source said that some could imagine Orban in a role similar to that of Jaroslaw Kaczynski in PiS, maintaining ideological influence while stepping back from day-to-day leadership.

Hungary's longest-serving prime minister (1998–2002, 2010–2026) returned his mandate on April 25, saying he would focus on rebuilding the party. On election night, he accepted responsibility for the defeat but would not resign as party chief, a position he has held since 2003 without interruption.

Orban, who turns 63 at the end of the month, has served continuously in parliament since Hungary's first post-communist elections in 1990. Political analysts said he chose to step back from the frontline to avoid direct debates with Tisza and its leader, and to help reboot Fidesz, which is still shell-shocked by the election results.

Tisza Party, set up in March 2024, won the most votes, 3.4mn, and by the largest margin ever amid record turnout. The centre-right party will have the most seats in Parliament,141 of the 199, or 70.8%, which is six over the supermajority. The Fidesz faction shrank from 135 seats to just 52.

According to Hang.hu, comments by insiders echo Orban's message to Digital Civic Circle members, saying Fidesz was no longer capable of renewing the right from the opposition. Instead, he argued, the rebuilding process must begin within smaller national-conservative communities outside the formal party structure.

The Digital Civic Circles were set up last May to strengthen the party's digital presence and mitigate the impact of the EU ban on political ads on Facebook.

Although rumours circulated that Orban had offered to resign as party chairman after the election, reports from the leftist Nepszava denied that any such vote or formal resignation proposal had occurred.

Fidesz will hold its congress next month, at which members could decide the party's future.

Orban's remarks mark the clearest indication yet that he is reassessing both his personal future and that of Hungary's dominant right-wing movement after four supermajorities and 16 years at the helm, without interruption.

Fidesz is working on a broad restructuring effort that could eventually include a new party name, a new political format and a shift away from the centralised campaign machinery that defined the Orban era.

Rather than rebuilding through the weakened party apparatus itself, the strategy would focus on creating informal "civic salons" across Hungary, according to the latest comments by officials.

These are local discussion forums for politically engaged people. In this way, Fidesz could reconnect with intellectuals, conservative opinion-makers and middle-class voters who drifted away over the years. Fidesz followed a similar strategy after its defeat in the 2002 elections, but analysts say the circumstances have changed dramatically since.

The move appears to reflect growing recognition within the party that its highly centralised model failed to mobilise the electorate. In contrast, Peter Magyar's Tisza Party, which sprang up as a grassroots movement, has tens of thousands of supporters engaged in politics. An estimated 50,000 "Tisza Island" members volunteered during the campaign and played a key role in the party's success.

In another innovation in Hungarian politics, Tisza's parliamentary candidates in individual constituencies were selected through this supporter network rather than by a central party committee.

According to Hang.hu, former minister and ex-EU commissioner Tibor Navracsics is expected to play a key role in designing this "conservative renewal".

Sources say Orban personally convinced the moderate conservative to help spearhead the ideological and organisational transformation of the Hungarian right.

Navracsics, the outgoing minister for public administration and regional development, had planned to retire from frontline politics after losing his seat in a pro-Fidesz area.

He attributed the election defeat to the party's loss of middle-class support and its "devaluation of civic values" in an interview with pro-Orban weekly Mandiner.

The split with the EPP in 2014, when Fidesz left the faction before being expelled, was a decisive factor in his view. The party's confrontation with the EU and its fearmongering campaigns also alienated middle-class voters, who had driven the party's rise in the late 1990s, he added.

He also criticised the party's campaign strategy, particularly its reliance on war-related messaging and Ukraine as a central theme, arguing that it no longer resonated with voters as it did in 2022. Fidesz also failed to speak publicly about domestic issues, while Tisza effectively addressed people's concerns about public services and living standards.

The latest surveys before the election showed Tisza with a massive lead (63-14%) among people with higher education, while Fidesz had a convincing lead among those with only elementary education. The ruling party also lost young voters, with just 8% of those under 30 planning to vote for Fidesz, according to Median.

A new poll by the pollster, which gave the most accurate projections for the election, shows a dramatic post-election realignment with the Tisza Party's support rising to 70%  among committed voters and 61% among the general population, nearly triple Fidesz's level.

Public opinion has also shifted sharply against former prime minister Viktor Orban, with 59% expressing dissatisfaction with his record and 65% supporting some form of legal accountability, including potential prosecution.

Only 28% believe he bears purely political responsibility and oppose legal proceedings. Support for prosecution is overwhelmingly strong among Tisza voters (88%), but notably, even 12% of Fidesz supporters say court proceedings would be justified.

By contrast, Peter Magyar enjoys strong legitimacy ratings, with 72% of respondents viewing him as fit for leadership.

The survey also points to a marked rise in optimism: 63% of Hungarians now believe the country is heading in the right direction, up from 33% before the election.