By 2022, after years of mounting corruption claims, the EU had had enough. Certain payments to Hungary were frozen until Orbán’s government implemented real anti-corruption reforms. The response from Budapest? Outrage. Orbán’s officials called the move “politically motivated”, insisting that everything was above board.
But behind closed doors, frustration was growing. One EU official, speaking privately, summed it up bluntly: “We paid millions, maybe billions, into a system that is increasingly hostile to the rule of law.”
The irony was undeniable. The EU’s own money had helped build the very system now defying it.
Exploiting Crisis: Orbán’s COVID-19 Power Grab
When the COVID-19 pandemic swept through Europe in early 2020, governments scrambled to impose lockdowns and emergency measures. Hungary was no different—except that Orbán took it much further.
Parliament handed him sweeping emergency powers, allowing him to rule by decree with no clear end date. It was essentially a blank check, giving him the authority to pass laws unilaterally, without parliamentary oversight.
Then came the “fake news” law.
Under this new statute, spreading what the government deemed “misinformation” about the pandemic became a criminal offense. Gábor Fekete, a teacher from Debrecen, learned this the hard way. He posted a video on social media showing empty medicine shelves at a local hospital—only to be arrested for fearmongering. He spent two nights in jail before being released without charges. “It felt like a warning to everyone,” he later told reporters. “Don’t question the official story.”
Across Europe, governments rolled back their emergency powers once the worst of the crisis had passed. But not Orbán.
Months turned into a year, and many of his extraordinary powers remained in place. As criticism mounted, government spokespeople insisted that these measures were still necessary to respond to potential outbreaks. Opposition leaders weren’t buying it.
To them, this wasn’t about public health. It was about power.
The Whistleblower Tape: A Crack in the Armor
By 2024, many Hungarians had come to accept Orbán’s rule as an unshakable reality. Protests still happened, but they were small, quickly dismissed by pro-government media as fringe outbursts.
Then came the bombshell.
Péter Magyar, a former Fidesz insider—and the ex-husband of Orbán’s justice minister—leaked an explosive audio recording.