How a visit by Pope Francis helped lead to the crushing defeat of Viktor Orban

NewsWorldEuropeANALYSISHow a visit by Pope Francis helped lead to the crushing defeat of Viktor OrbanPolitical editor David Maddox tracks the origins in Viktor Orban’s crushing defeat to the unforeseen consequences of a papal visit almost exactly three years agoMonday 13 April 2026 13:59 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2956459","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/viktor-orban-hungary-election-pope-francis-b2956459.html","title":"How a visit by Pope Francis helped lead to the crushing defeat of Viktor Orban"},"popoverPlacementOverride":"bottom"}ClosePéter Magyar delivers landslide Hungary election victory speechSign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UKSign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impactSign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impactEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_Brexit_Beyond_Newsletter","regTitle":"Brexit and beyond","subscriptionGroup":"brexit_and_beyond","subscriptionGroupId":"8dcf0f56-b455-4b6b-baf5-43a270c55e7d","type":"brexit_and_beyond","pathPrefix":"/topic/brexit","associatedAuthors":["David Maddox","Archie Mitchell"],"title":"Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK","mobileTitle":"Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/brexitAndBeyond1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveBrexitAndBeyond","regSourceSection":"Europe","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"...