Hungary's Viktor Orbán steps down from parliament after a landslide defeat, vows to rebuild

HungaryHungary's Viktor Orbán steps down from parliament after a landslide defeat, vows to rebuild"Our task now is not in parliament," Orbán said, vowing a radical "reorganization" of his political camp two weeks on from an election defeat that ended his 16 years in power.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaks to the press on April 15.Attila Kisbendek / AFP - Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 26, 2026, 2:14 AM EDTBy The Associated PressBUDAPEST, Hungary — Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not take his seat in parliament following a landslide election loss this month, and will instead focus on rebuilding his nationalist-populist political community, he announced Saturday in a video on social media.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Hungary's April 12 election brought an end to Orbán's 16 years in power when voters cast their ballots overwhelmingly for a center-right challenger who promised to crack down on endemic corruption and restore Hungary's democratic institutions that had been eroded under Orbán.That challenger, the Tisza party led by Hungary's incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar, won a two-thirds majority in parliament that will allow it to undo many of Orbán's policies.Hungary's new prime minister Péter Magyar defeated nationalist Viktor Orbán on April 12.Attila Kisbendek / AFP - Getty ImagesSince the election, the long-serving prime minister's future role in Hungarian political life, and whether he will retain a role in government, has been uncertain.But in a video posted to Facebook, Orbán said his party's caucus in parliament would be "radically transformed" following the election loss, and that he would not take his seat."Our task now is not in parliament," Orbán said, but in the "reorganization" of his political camp that he calls the "national side.""I have led ou...