EU urges swift reform in Hungary as election night ‘euphoria’ gives way to ‘Monday morning hangover’

François Picard is pleased to welcome Zsuzsanna Szelényi, foreign policy specialist, former politician, author and founding director of the CEU Democracy Institute Leadership Academy. For more than three decades, she observed, first-hand, Hungary’s political transformation from within. There was no sudden descent into autocracy, she witnessed a gradual and deliberate restructuring of political power. While the election result signals a historic turning point, she argues that the underlying power structure, systemic corruption, and networks of influence remain deeply entrenched.