Protesters break through police cordon in Tirana as anger grows over Trump-linked resort project
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Orbán's defeat deprives Georgian Dream of its main EU ally as opposition draws hope from Hungary vote
The landslide defeat of Viktor Orbán in Hungary's April 12 parliamentary elections has deprived Georgian Dream of its most consistent defender inside the European Union, while offering fresh momentum to Georgia's opposition resistance movement, Civil Georgia reported.
Péter Magyar's Tisza party swept to victory in what observers described as a historic vote with record turnout, ending Orbán's 16-year rule. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze congratulated Magyar while simultaneously thanking Orbán for "outstanding and steadfast support of Georgia's national interests over the years." Kobakhidze had visited Budapest as recently as March 21, meeting Orbán and addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference. A group of Georgian Dream lawmakers had travelled to Hungary to observe the vote.
Orbán had become one of Georgian Dream's most reliable external supporters following the disputed 2024 elections, using Hungary's EU veto to block stricter punitive measures against Tbilisi including an attempt in 2025 to impose targeted sanctions on Georgian Dream figures. With that protection now gone, opponents of the ruling party hope Brussels will move more decisively. "The collapse of Ivanishvili's main pillar of support will change the reality," wrote opposition Lelo MP Salome Samadashvili. Analyst Rikard Jozwiak cautioned however that Slovakia and potentially the Czech Republic could step into Hungary's veto role on Georgia within the EU.
The result also reignited divisions within the Georgian opposition over electoral strategy. Former President Zurabishvili said Tisza's win proved authoritarianism could be beaten at the ballot box. Federalist Party leader Tamar Chergoleishvili offered a distinction: "Dictators do not lose elections. Autocrats do." Samadashvili used the occasion to criticise those who had boycotted the 2025 municipal elections, saying Hungary's experience showed boycotts never produced results.
The Hungarian result came as Georgia's resistance movement marked its 500th consecutive day of street protests.
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