Vitamin D.

Crushing defeat.

“I can’t do my job without News Items.”​​​​​​​​​​​ — Jim Cramer, CNBC

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1. The 16-year reign of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is at an end after a crushing election loss on Sunday that will send political shockwaves from Washington to Moscow. The EU’s most autocratic leader — a close ally of both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — lost by a decisive margin in Sunday’s vote, amid the highest turnout in Hungary’s democratic history. With almost all of the votes counted, his opponent Péter Magyar looked set to win 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament. Orbán’s Fidesz party was on track to win only 55. (Sources: politico.eu, vtr.valasztas.hu)

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2. Eurointelligence:

If Peter Magyar had won against a Socialist or Christian Democrat, the news headline this morning would say Hungary had fallen to another populist – because Magyar, like Orbán sits on the populist right end of the spectrum. We heard him described as Orbán minus the corruption. Politically, he originates from the same party, even married one of Orbán’s staunchest stalwarts. Both relationships ended in 2023. Magyar founded his alternative right-wing party, Tisza, and ran on anti-corruption campaign. Politically, there is not much that separates the two. (Source: eurointelligence.com)

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