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{{Short description|Political party in Hungary}}
{{Redirect|Hungarian Civic Party|the political party in Romania|Hungarian Civic Party (Romania)|the former political party in Slovakia|Hungarian Civic Party (Slovakia)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance
| native_name      = {{lang|hu|Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség}}
| logo             = Fidesz 2015.svg
| logo_size        = 150px
| colorcode        = {{Political party data|color}}
| leader1_title    = President
| leader1_name     = [[Viktor Orbán]]
| leader2_title    = Vice presidents
| leader2_name     = {{collapsible list|title=''See list''|[[Kinga Gál]]<br />[[Lajos Kósa]]<br />[[Gábor Kubatov]]<br />[[Szilárd Németh (politician)|Szilárd Németh]]}}
| leader3_title    = Parliamentary leader
| leader3_name     = [[Máté Kocsis]]
| founders         = [[Viktor Orbán]]<br />[[Gábor Fodor (politician)|Gábor Fodor]]<br />[[László Kövér]]<br />[[István Bajkai]]<br />[[Zsolt Bayer]]<br />[[Tamás Deutsch (politician)|Tamás Deutsch]]<br />[[Zsolt Németh (politician, 1963)|Zsolt Németh]]<br />[[József Szájer]]
| foundation       = 30 March 1988<br>({{age in years and days|1988|03|30}})
| headquarters     = Visi Imre utca 6, 1089, [[Budapest]]
| ideology         = {{ubl|class=nowrap
 | [[National conservatism]]
 | [[Right-wing populism]]
 | [[Euroscepticism]]}}
| position         = [[Right-wing politics|Right-wing]]<ref>{{bulleted list|{{cite book|last1=Dinkelaker|first1=Jörg|last2=Wenten|first2=Klara-Aylin|title=Translations and Participation: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkHzEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22right-wing+fidesz%22&pg=PA44|year=2024|publisher=Verlag|isbn=9781317192824|page=44}}|{{cite book|last=Heinze|first=Eric|title=Coming Clean: The Rise of Critical Theory and the Future of the Left|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9o0VEQAAQBAJ&dq=%22right-wing+fidesz%22&pg=PA72|year=2025|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=9780262049580|page=72}}|{{cite news|title=Hungary's Right-wing Fidesz party sustains heavy losses in local elections|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/14/hungarys-right-wing-fidesz-party-sustains-heavy-losses-local/|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=14 October 2019}}|{{cite web|title=Hungary Pulls Its Ruling Party Out of EU's Conservatives|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/hungary-pulls-its-ruling-party-out-of-eus-conservatives/|website=[[Courthouse News Service]]|date=3 March 2021}}|{{cite web|title=Hungary's ruling Fidesz party resigns from Europe's centre-right group|url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20210318-hungary-s-ruling-fidesz-party-resigns-from-europe-s-centre-right-group|website=[[France 24]]|date=18 March 2021}}|{{cite web|last=Rady|first=Martyn|title=Bad boy of European politics: How Viktor Orbán turned Hungary into an illiberal state|url=https://www.the-tls.com/politics-by-region/european-politics/tainted-democracy-zsuzsanna-szelenyi-before-the-uprising-peter-kenez-book-review-martyn-rady|website=[[The Times Literary Supplement]]|date=13 January 2023}}|{{cite web|last=Verseck|first=Keno|title=Orban, Fidesz plot to keep a hold on Hungary|url=https://www.dw.com/en/viktor-orban-fidesz-plot-to-maintain-their-hold-on-hungary/a-57381238|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]|date=5 January 2021}}|{{cite web|title=Hungary: Viktor Orban's Fidesz to quit Europe's centre-right EPP|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56250461|website=[[BBC]]|date=3 March 2021}}|{{cite web|last=Wilson|first=Catherine|title=Hungary: Viktor Orban's Fidesz to quit Europe's centre-right EPP|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/hungary-s-viktor-orban-faces-challenge-his-illiberal-democracy|website=[[Lowy Institute]]|date=3 March 2021}}|{{cite web|last=Spike|first=Justin|title=How Hungary's Orbán uses control of the media to escape scrutiny and keep the public in the dark|url=https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2024/how-hungarys-orban-uses-control-of-the-media-to-escape-scrutiny-and-keep-the-public-in-the-dark/|website=[[Associated Press]]|date=31 July 2024}}|{{cite web|title=Hungary: Orban's right-wing party wins EU election but loses major support|url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/06/10/hungary-orbans-right-wing-party-wins-eu-election-but-loses-major-support|website=[[Euronews]]|date=10 June 2024}}|{{cite news|title=Hungary — National parliament voting intention|url=https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/hungary/|newspaper=[[Politico]]}}}}</ref> to [[Far-right politics|far-right]]
| national         = [[Fidesz–KDNP]]<br>(since 2005)
| european         = [[European People's Party|EPP]] (2004–2021)<br>[[Patriots.eu]] (since 2024)
| europarl         = [[Patriots for Europe]]<br>(since 2024){{refn|group=nb|The party was formerly part of the [[European People's Party Group]] (2004–2021), and ''[[Non-Inscrits]]'' (2021–2024).}}
| international    = [[Centrist Democrat International]]<br>[[International Democracy Union]] (formerly)
| youth_wing       = [[Fidelitas (Hungary)|Fidelitas]]
| think_tank       = Foundation for a Civic Hungary
<!-- Values obtained from Wikidata; to edit, see https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q387006 -->
| seats1_title     = [[National Assembly (Hungary)|National Assembly]]
| seats1           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-lower-house}}
| seats2_title     = [[European Parliament]]
| seats2           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ep}}
| seats3_title     = [[List of county councils in Hungary|County Assemblies]]
| seats3           = {{composition bar |227|381|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| seats4           = {{Composition bar|10|33|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| seats4_title     = [[General Assembly of Budapest]]
| colours          = {{Color box |{{party color|Fidesz}}|border=darkgray}} Orange
| flag             = Flag of Fidesz (Hungary).svg
| website          = {{Political party data|website}}
| country          = Hungary
}}

'''Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance''' ({{IPA|hu|ˈfidɛs|}}; {{langx|hu|Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség}} {{IPA|hu|ˈfidɛs ˈmɒɟɒr ˈpolɡaːri ˈsøvɛt͡ʃːeːɡ|}}) is a [[National conservatism|national-conservative]] [[List of political parties in Hungary|political party]] in [[Hungary]] led by [[Viktor Orbán]]. It has increasingly identified as [[illiberal]].

Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats ({{lang|hu|<b>Fi</b>atal <b>De</b>mokraták <b>Sz</b>övetsége}}) as a [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]] and [[Liberalism|liberal]] activist movement that opposed the ruling [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] government, it was registered as a political party in 1990, with Orbán as its leader. It entered the [[National Assembly (Hungary)|National Assembly]] following the [[1990 Hungarian parliamentary election|1990 parliamentary election]]. Following the [[1998 Hungarian parliamentary election|1998 election]], it successfully formed a [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]] government. It adopted [[Hungarian nationalism|nationalism]] in the early 2000s, but its popularity declined due to corruption scandals. It was in opposition between 2002 and 2010, and in 2006 it formed [[Fidesz–KDNP|a coalition]] with the [[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|Christian Democratic People's Party]] (KDNP).

Fidesz won a supermajority in the [[2010 Hungarian parliamentary election|2010 election]], adopted [[National conservatism|national-conservative]] policies, shifted further to the [[Right-wing politics|right]] and became [[Euroscepticism|Eurosceptic]]. The 2011 adoption of a [[Constitution of Hungary|new Hungarian constitution]]  was highly controversial as it consolidated power with Fidesz. Having set Hungary on a path of [[democratic backsliding]], its majority of seats remained after the [[2014 Hungarian parliamentary election|2014 election]], and following the escalation of the [[2015 European migrant crisis|migrant crisis]], Fidesz began using [[Right-wing populism|right-wing populist]] and [[Opposition to immigration|anti-immigrant]] rhetoric.

Following the [[2022 Hungarian parliamentary election]], it currently holds a majority in the National Assembly with 135 seats. It has also held the [[President of Hungary|presidency]] since 2010, has endorsed the election of every president since 2000, and it enjoys majorities in all 19 [[Counties of Hungary|county assemblies]], while being in opposition in the [[General Assembly of Budapest]]. Fidesz was initially a member of the [[Liberal International]] until 2000, after which it joined the [[European People's Party]]. It remained its member until 2021, and since then it has served with the [[Non-Inscrits]] group within the [[European Parliament]]. On 30 June 2024, [[ANO 2011]], the [[Freedom Party of Austria]], and Fidesz, created a new alliance named [[Patriots for Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-30 |title=Hungary's Orban announces plan to form new far-right bloc in EP |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/06/30/hungarys-orban-announces-new-far-right-bloc-for-the-european-parliament |access-date=2024-06-30 |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2019}}

=== 1988–1989: Liberal activist beginnings ===

[[File:Fidesz-old-logo.jpg|thumb|First logo of the party (1998).]]

The party was founded in the spring of 1988<ref>{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Shaun |date=2018-04-06 |title='You cannot negotiate with Orbán': hardline PM seeks fourth term |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/06/hungary-viktor-orban-election-migration |access-date=2023-04-18 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and named ''Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége'' ''(Alliance of Young Democrats)'' with the acronym ''FIDESZ''. It grew out of an underground [[Liberalism|liberal]] student activist movement opposed to the ruling [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]].<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.politico.eu/article/ties-that-bind-hungarys-fidesz-and-european-parliament/|title=Ties that bind Hungary's Fidesz and European Parliament|work= Politico}}</ref><ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary">{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/13/17823488/hungary-democracy-authoritarianism-trump|title=It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary|last1=Beauchamp|first1=Zack|work=Vox|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> Founding such a movement was semi-illegal at the time, so the founders risked their careers by being involved in the opposition.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-01-25 |title=Viktor Orban: the rise of Europe's troublemaker |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/dda50a3e-0095-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5 |access-date=2023-04-18}}</ref> The membership had an upper age limit of 35 years (this requirement was abolished at the 1993 party congress).<ref>{{Cite news|date=1993-04-18|title=Hungarian Youth Party Tries a Grown-Up Appeal|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/18/world/hungarian-youth-party-tries-a-grown-up-appeal.html|access-date=2021-11-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1989, Fidesz won the [[Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize]]. The movement was represented at the award ceremony by one of its leaders, [[Péter Molnár (academic)|Péter Molnár]], who later became a Member of Parliament in Hungary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FIDESZ - Péter Molnár |url=https://www.rafto.no/en/the-rafto-prize/fidez-peter-molnar |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=The Rafto Foundation}}</ref>

=== 1990–1998: Centre-left opposition and conservative turn ===
In the 1990 elections, the party entered the [[National Assembly (Hungary)|National Assembly]] after winning about 6% of the vote. They became a small, though quite popular [[Parliamentary opposition|oppositional]] party. In 1992, Fidesz joined the [[Liberal International]].<ref name="History of Fidesz"/> At the time, it was a moderate liberal centrist party, sometimes also described as [[Social liberalism|social-liberal]].<ref name="LaBruyère2010">{{cite web |language=fr|author=Florence La Bruyère |title=En Hongrie, le populisme au pouvoir |url=https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2010/12/13/en-hongrie-le-populisme-au-pouvoir_700284/ |date=13 December 2010|publisher=[[Libération]]|accessdate=17 April 2021}}</ref>

At the 1993 party congress, it changed its political position from liberal to [[Centrism|civic-centrist]] ("polgári centrumpárt"). The turn in ideology caused a severe split in the membership. [[Péter Molnár (academic)|Péter Molnár]] left the party along with [[Gábor Fodor (politician)|Gábor Fodor]] and Klára Ungár, who joined the liberal [[Alliance of Free Democrats]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} [[Viktor Orbán]] was elected party chairman.

After its disappointing result in the [[1994 Hungarian parliamentary election|1994 elections]], Fidesz remained an opposition party but grew increasingly [[Conservatism|conservative]].<ref name="Bakke">{{Citation|last=Bakke|first=Elisabeth|title=Central and East European party systems since 1989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oFXdiS25N78C&pg=PA79|work=Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989|page=79|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-13948750-4|access-date=17 November 2011}}</ref><ref name="History of Fidesz">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fidesz.hu/index.php?Cikk=68476|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010152354/http://www.fidesz.hu/index.php?Cikk=68476|title=The History of Fidesz
|archive-date=10 October 2007|website=Fidesz.hu}}</ref> In 1995, it changed its name to ''Hungarian Civic Party'' (''Magyar Polgári Párt'') and sought connections to the national-conservative [[Hungarian Democratic Forum]], a former governing party.

=== 1998–2002: First Orbán government ===
Fidesz gained power for the first time at the [[1998 Hungarian parliamentary election|1998 elections]], with Viktor Orbán becoming prime minister. Their [[Coalition government|coalition]] partners were the smaller Hungarian Democratic Forum and the [[Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party|Independent Smallholders' Party]]. In 2000, Fidesz terminated its membership in the Liberal International and joined the [[European People's Party]].<ref name="History of Fidesz"/> The government constituted a "relatively conventional European conservative" rule.<ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary" />

=== 2002–2010: Return to opposition ===
[[File:Budapest heroes Fidesz HQ.jpg|thumb|left|The former main office building of Fidesz]]
Fidesz narrowly lost the [[2002 Hungarian parliamentary election|2002 elections]] to the [[Hungarian Socialist Party]], garnering 41.07% to the Socialists' 42.05%. Fidesz had 169 members of the [[National Assembly (Hungary)|National Assembly]], out of a total of 386. Immediately after the election, they accused the opponents of [[electoral fraud]].<ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary" /> The 2002 Hungarian municipal elections saw again huge Fidesz losses.{{Citation needed|date= March 2019}}

In the spring of 2003, Fidesz took its current name, ''Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union''.<ref name="History of Fidesz" />

It was the most successful party in the [[2004 European Parliament election in Hungary|2004 European Parliamentary Elections]]: it won 47.4% of the vote and 12 of its candidates were elected as [[Member of the European Parliament|Members of the European Parliament]] (MEPs),{{Citation needed |date= March 2019}} including [[Lívia Járóka]], the second [[Romani people|Romani]] MEP.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lívia Járóka|url=https://evpa.eu.com/people/lívia-járóka|access-date=2021-11-20|website=EVPA}}</ref>

Fidesz's nominee, Dr. [[László Sólyom]], was elected [[President of Hungary]] in [[2005 Hungarian presidential election|the 2005 election]]. He was endorsed by [[Védegylet NGO|Védegylet]], an NGO including people from the whole political spectrum. A self-described "[[Conservative liberalism|conservative liberal]]," he championed elements of both political wings with a selective, but conscious choice of values.<ref>{{in lang|hu}} [http://index.hu/politika/belfold/kernt8094/ Sólyom politikaformáló erő akar lenni], Kern Tamás, [[Index.hu]], 22 August 2005</ref>

In 2005, Fidesz and the [[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|Christian Democratic People's Party]] (KDNP) formed an alliance for the [[2006 Hungarian parliamentary election|2006 elections]], which were won by the social-democratic and liberal coalition of [[Hungarian Socialist Party]] (MSZP) and the [[Alliance of Free Democrats]] (SZDSZ). Fidesz received 42% of the list votes and 164 of 386 representatives in the [[National Assembly (Hungary)|National Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2006-04-23|title=Hungary Socialists win new term|work=[[BBC News]]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4935474.stm|access-date=2021-11-20}}</ref>

On 1 October 2006, Fidesz won the municipal elections, which counterbalanced the MSZP-led government's power to some extent. Fidesz won 15 of 23 mayoralties in Hungary's largest cities—although its candidate narrowly lost the city of Budapest to a member of the SZDSZ—and majorities in 18 out of 20 regional assemblies.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.vokscentrum.hu/onkorm/elemzo.php?jny=hun&mszkod=860001&mitmut=polgmjv |title= VoksCentrum a választások univerzuma |publisher= Vokscentrum |access-date= 17 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070818083027/http://www.vokscentrum.hu/onkorm/elemzo.php?jny=hun&mszkod=860001&mitmut=polgmjv |archive-date= 18 August 2007}}</ref><ref name= OctElects06>{{cite web |url= http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/10/03/2003330242 |title=Opposition makes substantial gains in Hungarian elections | work = Taipei Times |date=29 August 2015 |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref>

In the [[2009 European Parliament election in Hungary|2009 European Parliament election]], Fidesz won a landslide victory, gaining 56.36% of the vote and 14 of Hungary's 22 seats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National results Hungary {{!}} 2009 Constitutive session {{!}} 2019 European election results|url=https://europarl.europa.eu/election-results-2019/en/national-results/hungary/2009-2014/constitutive-session/ |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=European Parliament}}</ref>

In a closed-door party meeting in 2009, Orbán called for a "central political forcefield" to govern Hungary for up to 20 years to achieve political stability.<ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary" />

In January 2010, [[László Kövér]], head of the party's national board, told reporters the party was aiming at winning a two-thirds majority at the parliamentary elections in April. He noted that Fidesz had a realistic chance to win a landslide. However, this feat was threatened by the rise of the radical nationalist [[Jobbik]] party. Kövér said it was a "lamentably negative" tendency, adding that it was rooted in the ''"disaster government"'' of the Socialist Party and its former liberal ally Free Democrats.<ref>{{cite web |author=MTI |url=http://www.politics.hu/20100129/opposition-fidesz-aims-at-twothirds-majority |title=Opposition Fidesz aims at two-thirds majority |publisher=Politics.hu |access-date=17 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311112636/http://www.politics.hu/20100129/opposition-fidesz-aims-at-twothirds-majority/ |archive-date=11 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== 2010–present: In power ===
The strong and preeminent Fidesz has benefited from the fragmented and disjointed opposition that has proved inept at mounting a unified challenge to the ruling party in a country where a majority of parliamentary seats are allocated to the party that garners the plurality of votes in a constituency.<ref name=":26">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/25/world/europe/hungary-election-viktor-orban.html|title=In Hungary, Disunity and Gerrymandering Frustrate Anti-Orban Voters|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=25 March 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Government debt has fallen by 6% in the 8 years after Fidesz took power in 2010 while the country's credit ratings have improved. Economic growth had almost quadrupled with wages rising by over 10% and destitution decreasing by almost 50% (though still considerable). According to official figures, unemployment had fallen by nearly two-thirds. However, as many as almost half of newly employed Hungarians had found work elsewhere in the EU. A public works program has also been criticized by some economists for artificially and deceptively reducing unemployment numbers while engaging in and compensating people for possibly unneeded or unnecessarily inefficient work.<ref name=":31"/> Hungary has been highly dependent on EU funds during Fidesz's rule; these representing nearly 4% of the country's GDP, more than for any other EU member.<ref name=":29">{{Cite news|last1=Novak|first1=Benjamin|last2=Kingsley|first2=Patrick|date=2 May 2018|title=Hungary's Judges Warn of Threats to Judicial Independence|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/hungary-judges-independence.html|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==== 2010–2014: Second Orbán government ====
In a landslide victory in the [[2010 Hungarian parliamentary election|2010 parliamentary elections]], the party won an outright majority in the first round on 11 April, with the Fidesz-KDNP alliance winning 206 seats, including 119 individual seats. In the final result, Fidesz 263 seats, of which 173 are individual seats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.valasztas.hu/hu/parval2010/354/354_0_index.html |title=Országos Választási Iroda – 2010 Országgyűlési Választások |language=hu |publisher=Valasztas.hu |date=3 May 2010 |access-date=5 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327031022/http://www.valasztas.hu/hu/parval2010/354/354_0_index.html |archive-date=27 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Fidesz held 227 of these seats, giving it an outright majority in the National Assembly by itself.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}

Fidesz was widely seen as propelled to a sweeping victory in large part due to the dissatisfaction with the ruling political establishment which was plagued by corruption scandals and by the [[2008 financial crisis]].<ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary" /> The [[Hungarian Socialist Party|socialist]] government had also imposed harsh austerity measures in an attempt to rein in its ballooning budget deficits even before the late 2000s’ crisis. In September 2006, a recording of the prime minister admitting to lying about the country's dire economic prospects was revealed by the media and broadcast on radio. Steel barriers were erected around the parliament to protect it from tens of thousands of protesters.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/world/europe/foes-of-hungarys-government-fear-demolition-of-democracy.html|title=Foes of Hungary's Government Fear 'Demolition of Democracy'|last=Kulish|first=Nicholas|date=21 December 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=16 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

After winning 53% of the [[2010 Hungarian parliamentary election|popular vote in the first round of the 2010 parliamentary election]], which translated into a [[supermajority]] of 68% of parliamentary seats, giving Fidesz sufficient power to revise or replace the constitution, the party embarked on an extraordinary project of passing over 200 laws and drafting and adopting a new constitution—since followed by nearly 2000 amendments.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}

The [[Constitution of Hungary|new constitution]] has been widely criticized<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/hungarys-constitutional-revolution/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220074218/http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/hungarys-constitutional-revolution/|title=Hungary's Constitutional Revolution|date=19 December 2011|archive-date=20 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FNONSGML%2BCOMPARL%2BPE-491.186%2B02%2BDOC%2BPDF%2BV0%2F%2FEN |format=PDF |title=Working Document 1 |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/libe/dv/906/906320/906320en.pdf |title=Working Document 2 |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FNONSGML%2BCOMPARL%2BPE-500.583%2B01%2BDOC%2BPDF%2BV0%2F%2FEN |format=PDF |title=Working Document 3 |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FNONSGML%2BCOMPARL%2BPE-502.280%2B01%2BDOC%2BPDF%2BV0%2F%2FEN |format=PDF |title=Working Document 4 |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/by_opinion.aspx?country=17|title=Documents by opinions and studies|access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref> by the [[Venice Commission|European Commission for Democracy through Law]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lapa.princeton.edu/hosteddocs/hungary/venice%20commission%20hungarian%20constitution.pdf |title=EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY THROUGH LAW (VENICE COMMISSION) : OPINION |publisher=Lapa.princeton.edu |access-date=4 September 2015 |archive-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008153536/https://lapa.princeton.edu/hosteddocs/hungary/venice%20commission%20hungarian%20constitution.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> the [[Council of Europe]], the [[European Parliament]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2011-0315+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN |title=Texts adopted – Tuesday, 5 July 2011 – Revised Hungarian constitution – P7_TA(2011)0315 |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref> and the United States<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hungary.usembassy.gov/kounalakis12082011.html |title=Remarks & Statements &#124; Budapest, Hungary – Embassy of the United States |publisher=Hungary.usembassy.gov |date=8 December 2011 |access-date=4 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018221107/http://hungary.usembassy.gov/kounalakis12082011.html |archive-date=18 October 2015 }}</ref> for concentrating too much power in the hands of the ruling party, for limiting oversight of the new constitution by the [[Constitutional Court of Hungary]], and for removing democratic [[Separation of powers|checks and balances]] in various areas, including the ordinary [[judiciary]],<ref>[http://esbalogh.typepad.com/hungarianspectrum/2011/12/the-end-of-the-independent-judiciary.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313232727/http://esbalogh.typepad.com/hungarianspectrum/2011/12/the-end-of-the-independent-judiciary.html|date=13 March 2012}}</ref> supervision of elections, and the [[Freedom of the press|media]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gall |first=Lydia |date=2013-05-16 |title=Wrong Direction on Rights |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/05/16/wrong-direction-rights/assessing-impact-hungarys-new-constitution-and-laws |journal=Human Rights Watch}}</ref>

In October 2013, [[Thorbjørn Jagland]], [[Secretary General of the Council of Europe]] said that the council was satisfied with the amendments which had been made to the criticized laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ferenckumin.tumblr.com/post/63454622999/council-of-europes-jagland-hungarians-have-gone-a|title=Ferenc Kumin – Council of Europe's Jagland: 'Hungarians Have Gone...|publisher=Ferenckumin.tumblr.com|access-date=14 February 2015|archive-date=15 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215202000/http://ferenckumin.tumblr.com/post/63454622999/council-of-europes-jagland-hungarians-have-gone-a|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== 2014–2018: Third Orbán government ====
Fidesz won the [[2014 Hungarian parliamentary election|nationwide parliamentary election in April 2014]] and secured a second supermajority with 133 seats (of 199) in the legislature.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal">{{cite news|last1=Gulyas|first1=Veronika|date=22 February 2015|title=Hungary's Ruling Party Loses Two-Thirds Majority after By-Election|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/hungarys-ruling-party-loses-two-thirds-majority-after-by-election-1424634646|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="Index.hu">{{cite news|last1=Dull|first1=Szabolcs|title=Győzött a Jobbik a tapolcai választáson|publisher=Index HU|url=http://index.hu/belfold/2015/04/12/idokozi_valasztas_ajka_sumeg_tapolca_parlament/|access-date=12 April 2015}}</ref> Observers from The [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] stated that Fidesz "enjoyed an undue advantage, including in biased media coverage.”<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/117200| title=Although parliamentary elections in Hungary offered voters a diverse choice, ruling party enjoyed undue advantage, say international observers|date=7 April 2014| publisher=Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe}}</ref>

This supermajority was lost, however, when [[Tibor Navracsics]] was appointed to the [[European Commission]]. His [[Veszprém County]] seat was taken by an independent candidate in a [[by-election]].<ref name="The Wall Street Journal"/> Another by-election on 12 April 2015 saw the supermajority lose a second seat, also in Veszprém, to a [[Jobbik]] candidate.<ref name="Index.hu"/>

==== 2018–2022: Fourth Orbán government ====
Fidesz won the [[2018 Hungarian parliamentary election|nationwide parliamentary election in April 2018]] and secured a 3rd supermajority with 133 seats (of 199) in the legislature.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bayer|first1=Lili|date=10 April 2018|title=Orbán poised to tighten grip on power|work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-fidesz-poised-to-tighten-grip-on-power-hungary-budapest-election/|access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref> Orbán and Fidesz campaigned primarily on the issues of immigration and foreign meddling, and the election was seen as a victory for [[right-wing populism]] in Europe.<ref name="OrbanReuters">{{cite web | last1=Than | first1=Krisztina | last2=Szakacs | first2=Gergely | title=Hungary's Strongman Viktor Orban Wins Third Term in Power | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-election/hungarys-strongman-viktor-orban-wins-third-term-in-power-idUSKBN1HE0UC | date=9 April 2018 | work=Reuters | access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="OrbanEUobserver">{{cite web | last1=Zalan | first1=Eszter | title=Hungary's Orban in Sweeping Victory, Boosting EU Populists | url=https://euobserver.com/political/141539 | date=9 April 2018 | work=[[EUobserver]] | access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="MurphyKheraToI">{{cite web | last1=Murphy | first1=Peter | last2=Khera | first2=Jastinder | title=Hungary's Orban Claims Victory as Nationalist Party Takes Sweeping Poll Lead | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/hungarys-orban-claims-victory-as-nationalist-party-takes-sweeping-poll-lead/ | date=9 April 2018 | work=[[The Times of Israel]] | access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>

With the start of 2019, the prime minister's residence was relocated from the [[Hungarian Parliament Building]] to the [[Buda Castle]], a former [[Carmelites|Carmelite]] monastery and former royal residence. The move was first planned in 2002 during the first Fidesz government, but was never carried out. Government representatives stated the move was necessary to uphold the separation of the executive and legislative branch by physically separating the two (in contrast to the Communist era when the two branches operated in the same building) while the opposition criticized the move as profligate (the renovation cost Ft21bn, or €65.5M) and as a symbolic revival of the Horthy era ([[Miklós Horthy]] also took up residence in the building).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/pm-moving-to-buda-castle-puritanism-in-a-former-monastery-or-costly-reminiscence-of-horthy-era/|title=PM Moving to Buda Castle: Puritanism in a Former Monastery or Costly Restoration of the Horthy Era?|date=7 January 2019|website=Hungary Today|access-date=16 March 2019|archive-date=15 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215012529/https://hungarytoday.hu/pm-moving-to-buda-castle-puritanism-in-a-former-monastery-or-costly-reminiscence-of-horthy-era/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnevnik.si/1042855508|title=Orban se z novim letom seli v kraljevo palačo|website=Dnevnik|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref>

In [[2019 Hungarian local elections|2019 local elections]], the party lost its majority in [[General Assembly of Budapest]] and numerous city councils.

==== 2022–present: Fifth Orbán government ====
Fidesz won the [[2022 Hungarian parliamentary election]] and secured a supermajority for the fourth time with 135 seats (of 199) in the legislature. ''[[Reuters]]'' described it as a "crushing victory".<ref name=":6">{{cite news |last1=Komuves |first1=Anita |last2=Szakacs |first2=Gergely |date=3 April 2022 |title=Orban on track for crushing victory as Ukraine war solidifies support|work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungarians-vote-orbans-12-year-rule-tight-ballot-overshadowed-by-ukraine-war-2022-04-03/ |access-date=3 April 2022}}</ref> With 54.13% of the popular vote, Fidesz received the highest vote share by any party since Hungary returned to democracy in 1989.<ref name=tait>{{Cite news |last1=Tait |first1=Robert |last2=Garamvolgyi |first2=Flora |date=2022-04-03 |title=Viktor Orbán wins fourth consecutive term as Hungary's prime minister |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/03/viktor-orban-expected-to-win-big-majority-in-hungarian-general-election |access-date=2023-08-30 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In June 2024 it was revealed that Fidesz had become [[Google]]'s biggest advertiser in the whole of the [[European Union]].<ref name="ki1">{{Cite web|url=https://kyivindependent.com/orbans-party-biggest-spenders-of-google-advertising-in-eu/|title=Media: Orban's party becomes Google's biggest advertiser in EU|date=9 June 2024|website=The Kyiv Independent}}</ref>

==Ideology and policies==
{{Conservatism in Hungary|Parties}}
{{See also|Orbanism}}
Fidesz's position on the [[political spectrum]] has changed over time.

===Early years===
At its inception as a student movement in the late 1980s, the party was positioned on the [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]] on the political spectrum,<ref name="LaBruyère20102">{{cite web|author=Florence La Bruyère|date=13 December 2010|title=En Hongrie, le populisme au pouvoir|url=https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2010/12/13/en-hongrie-le-populisme-au-pouvoir_700284/|publisher=[[Libération]]|language=fr|accessdate=17 April 2021}}</ref> and it advocated for [[liberalism]]<ref name="Dieringer">{{cite book|last=Dieringer|first=Jürgen|title=Das Politische System der Republik Ungarn: Entstehung – Entwicklung – Europäisierung|publisher=[[:de:Verlag Barbara Budrich|Verlag Barbara Budrich]]|year=2009|pages=78–79}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Andor|first=Lásló|title=Hungary on the Road to the European Union|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2000|page=69}}</ref> and [[libertarianism]].<ref name="handbook">{{cite book|last=Berglund|first=Sten|title=The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|year=2013|page=297}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Galston|first=William|title=Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2020|page=46}}</ref> It was strongly committed towards [[Anti-clericalism|anti-clerical]]<ref name="pappas">{{cite book|last=Pappas|first=Takis|title=Populism and Liberal Democracy|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|page=157}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Pirro|first=Andrea|title=The Populist Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|page=154}}</ref> and [[Secularism|secular]] policies.<ref>{{cite book|last=Arato|first=Andrew|title=Civil Society, Constitution, and Legitimacy|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2000|page=286}}</ref><ref name="handbook" /> As the Hungarian political landscape crystallized following the [[End of communism in Hungary|fall of Communism]] and the [[1990 Hungarian parliamentary election|first free elections in 1990]], Fidesz moved to the right four years later. Although Fidesz was in opposition to the [[Hungarian Democratic Forum]]'s national-conservative coalition government from 1990 to 1994, Fidesz became the most prominent [[Liberal conservatism|liberal-conservative]] political force in Hungary by 1998.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tunkrova|first=Lucie|title=The Politics of EU Accession|publisher=Routledge|year=2010|page=137}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bibič|first=Adolf|title=Civil Society, Political Society, Democracy|publisher=Slovenian Political Science Association|year=1994|page=275}}</ref> It adopted [[Hungarian nationalism|nationalism]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=18 March 2021|title=Hungary's Fidesz quits European conservative group: 'Time to say goodbye'|newspaper=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-politics-fidesz-epp-idUSKBN2BA2CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-fidesz-party-quits-european-bloc-center-right-eu/31158255.html|title=Hungary's Ruling Fidesz Party Quits European Center-Right Bloc|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=18 March 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://verfassungsblog.de/fidesz-and-faith-ethno-nationalism-in-hungary/|title=Fidesz and Faith: Ethno-Nationalism in Hungary|year=2018 |doi=10.17176/20180629-091745-0 |last1=Halmai |first1=Gábor |journal=Verfassungsblog: On Matters Constitutional }}</ref> [[National liberalism|national-liberalism]],<ref name="Dieringer" /><ref name="pappas" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Jay Colin|title=The Government and Party Systems of Hungary (1990-2000)|publisher=Indiana University|year=2001|page=94}}</ref> and [[Christian democracy]] in the early 2000s.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schöpflin|first1=György|year=2013|title=Hungary: the Fidesz Project|work=[[Aspen Review Central Europe]]|issue=1|url=https://www.aspenreview.com/article/2017/hungary%3A-the-fidesz-project/|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> It was positioned on the [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]],<ref>{{cite news|date=26 May 1998|title=Stunning win for centre-right Fidesz party|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/stunning-win-for-centre-right-fidesz-party-1.156754|access-date=2 October 2019}}</ref> although it moved more to the right as the decade progressed.<ref>{{cite news|date=18 December 2010|title=Fidesz: The story so far|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2010/12/fidesz|access-date=18 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=12 April 2010|title=Right-wing Fidesz win election by landslide|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/europe/20100412-right-wing-fidesz-win-election-landslide|access-date=18 November 2011|publisher=Radio France Internationale}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Seres|first=Balint|date=12 April 2010|title=Right-wing Fidesz party wins by landslide in Hungary elections|newspaper=News AU|url=http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/right-wing-fidesz-party-wins-by-landslide-in-hungary-elections/story-e6frfku0-1225852566022|access-date=18 November 2011|archive-date=6 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106082200/http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/right-wing-fidesz-party-wins-by-landslide-in-hungary-elections/story-e6frfku0-1225852566022|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Contemporary===
Since the late 2010s, Fidesz has increasingly been described as [[Far-right politics|far-right]].<ref name="far-right">*{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/world/europe/hungary-protests-viktor-orban.html|title=Opposition in Hungary Demonstrates Against Orban, in Rare Display of Dissent|last1=Kingsley|first1=Patrick|website=The New York Times|date=16 December 2018|access-date=16 December 2018}}
*{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/world/europe/hungary-courts.html|title=Hungary Creates New Court System, Cementing Leader's Control of Judiciary|last1=Novak|first1=Benjamin|last2=Kingsley|first2=Patrick|website=The New York Times|date=12 December 2018|access-date=12 December 2018}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/michael-gove-viktor-orban-hungarian-government-far-right-a8540146.html|title=Michael Gove refuses to condemn far-right Hungarian leader Viktor Orban|last1=Cowburn|first1=Ashley|website=The Independent|access-date=16 September 2018}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/how-hungary-became-a-haven-for-the-alt-right/527178/|title=How Hungary Became a Haven for the Alt-Right|last1=Schaeffer|first1=Carol|website=The Atlantic|date=28 May 2017|access-date=28 May 2017}}
*{{cite news|title=Why rightwing populism has radicalised|url=https://www.ft.com/content/0fcafba6-d428-11e9-8367-807ebd53ab77|first=Simon|last=Kuper|date=11 September 2019|website=[[Financial Times]]}}
*{{cite web|title=The Hungarian paradigm shift: how right-wing are Fidesz supporters?|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/hungarian-paradigm-shift-how-right-wing-are-fidesz-supporters/|first=Katherine|last=Kondor|date=30 January 2019|website=[[openDemocracy]]}}
*{{cite magazine|title=Viktor Orbán's Far-Right Vision for Europe|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/14/viktor-orbans-far-right-vision-for-europe|first=Elisabeth|last=Zerofsky|date=7 January 2019|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}
*{{cite magazine|title=Hungary's Far-Right Government Has Been Getting a Boost from President Trump Ahead of E.U. Elections|url=https://time.com/5590134/hungary-foreign-minister-interview/|first=Vivienne|last=Walt|date=22 May 2019|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=2 October 2019|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119095958/https://time.com/5590134/hungary-foreign-minister-interview/|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite web|title=Hungarian opposition party says its meetings in parliament were bugged|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hugary-p-rbesz-d-spy-recordings-bugged-gergely-kar-csony-a9126441.html|quote=Hungarian politics is dominated by Viktor Orban's far-right Fidesz party, which is supported by a largely partisan pro-government media that marginalises opposition voices.|first=Jon|last=Stone|date=30 September 2019|website=[[The Independent]]}}
*{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/13/17823488/hungary-democracy-authoritarianism-trump|title=It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary|last1=Beauchamp|first1=Zack|work=Vox|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 October 2019}}
*{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/world/2018/12/17/18144648/hungary-protest-orban-labor-democracy|title=Hungary's prime minister stole the country's democracy. Now Hungarians are rising up.|last1=Beauchamp|first1=Zack|work=Vox|date=17 December 2018|access-date=12 October 2019}}
*{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/world/europe/orban-epp.html|title=Top E.U. Coalition Suspends Party Led by Orban, Hungary's Leader|last1=Santora|first1=Marc|date=20 March 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=29 May 2019|last2=Erlanger|first2=Steven|issn=0362-4331}}
*{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/viktor-orban-hungary/557246/|title=The Most Dangerous Man in the European Union|last=Lendvai|first=Paul|date=7 April 2018|website=The Atlantic|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="HloušekKopeček">{{cite book|last1=Hloušek|first1=Vít|title=Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared|last2=Kopeček|first2=Lubomír|publisher=Ashgate|year=2010|page=115}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Kingsley|first1=Patrick|date=16 December 2018|title=Opposition in Hungary Demonstrates Against Orban, in Rare Display of Dissent|website=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/world/europe/hungary-protests-viktor-orban.html|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Novak|first1=Benjamin|last2=Kingsley|first2=Patrick|date=12 December 2018|title=Hungary Creates New Court System, Cementing Leader's Control of Judiciary|website=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/world/europe/hungary-courts.html|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Schaeffer|first1=Carol|date=28 May 2017|title=How Hungary Became a Haven for the Alt-Right|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/how-hungary-became-a-haven-for-the-alt-right/527178/|access-date=28 May 2017|website=The Atlantic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kuper|first=Simon|date=September 11, 2019|title=Why rightwing populism has radicalised|website=[[Financial Times]]|url=https://www.ft.com/content/0fcafba6-d428-11e9-8367-807ebd53ab77}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kondor|first=Katherine|date=January 30, 2019|title=The Hungarian paradigm shift: how right-wing are Fidesz supporters?|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/hungarian-paradigm-shift-how-right-wing-are-fidesz-supporters/|website=[[openDemocracy]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Stone|first=Jon|date=September 30, 2019|title=Hungarian opposition party says its meetings in parliament were bugged|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hugary-p-rbesz-d-spy-recordings-bugged-gergely-kar-csony-a9126441.html|website=[[The Independent]]|quote=Hungarian politics is dominated by Viktor Orban's far-right Fidesz party, which is supported by a largely partisan pro-government media that marginalises opposition voices.}}</ref> The party is [[National conservatism|national conservative]]<ref name="Nordsieck">{{cite web|last=Nordsieck|first=Wolfram|year=2018|title=Hungary|url=http://parties-and-elections.eu/hungary.html|website=Parties and Elections in Europe}}</ref><ref name="HloušekKopeček" /><ref name="Bakke" /> while favoring interventionist policies on economic issues like handling of banks,<ref name="Vít Hloušek 2013">Dr Vít Hloušek, Dr Lubomír Kopecek (2013). Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared. Ashgate Publishing. ps. 177.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bozóki|first1=András|title=The Hungarian Patient: Social Opposition to an Illiberal Democracy|date=2015|publisher=[[Central European University Press]]|editor1-last=Krasztev|editor1-first=Péter|page=21|chapter=Chapter 1: Broken Democracy, Predatory State, and Nationalist Populism|editor2-last=Van Til|editor2-first=Jon}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mudde|first=Cas|title=On Extremism and Democracy in Europe|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|page=46}}</ref> and has a strong [[Social conservatism|conservative]] stance on social issues,<ref>{{cite book|last=White|first=Stephen|title=Developments in Central and East European Politics|publisher=Macmillan|year=2013|page=35}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Tiryakian|first=Edward|title=New Nationalisms of the Developed West: Toward Explanation|year=2020|quote=In Hungary, Orbán and his social conservative Fidesz ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bakke|first=Elisabeth|title=20 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Transitions, State Break-Up and Democratic Politics in Central Europe and Germany|publisher=BMV Verlag|year=2011|page=257}}</ref> a [[soft Eurosceptic]] vision towards [[European integration]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2007/01/04/stars-and-soggy-bottoms|title=Europe.view: Stars and soggy bottoms |newspaper=The Economist|access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fenteslent.blog.hu/2013/12/05/hegedus_zsuzsa_orban_igazi_szocialdemokrata|title=Hegedűs Zsuzsa: Orbán igazi szociáldemokrata|work=Fent és lent – gátlástalan patriotizmus|access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democracy-in-hungary-defence-of-fidesz/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504110055/http://www.opendemocracy.net/gell%C3%A9rt-rajcs%C3%A1nyi/democracy-in-hungary-defence-of-fidesz|title=Democracy in Hungary: the defence of Fidesz|archive-date=4 May 2014|website=openDemocracy}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference|last1=Horvath|first1=Attila|year=2016|title=From Anti-communism to Anti-EUism: Faces of Fidesz's Euroscepticism|url=https://www.uaces.org/events/conferences/london/papers/abstract.php?paper_id=148|conference=UACES 46th Annual Conference|journal=University Association for Contemporary European Studies}}{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Hegedüs|first1=Daniel|date=27 May 2019|title=Can the right in East and West unite?|work=International Politics and Society|url=https://www.ips-journal.eu/regions/europe/article/show/can-the-right-in-east-and-west-unite-3499/|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Petsinis|first1=Vassilis|date=23 February 2019|title='It is also the economy, stupid!' The rise of economic euroscepticism in Central and Eastern Europe|work=openDemocracy|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/it-is-also-economy-stupid-rise-of-economic-euroscepticism-in-ce/|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> and has been described as [[right-wing populism|right-wing populist]].<ref name="HloušekKopeček" /><ref name="Bakke" /><ref name="Bieling2015">{{cite book|last=Bieling|first=Hans-Jürgen|title=Asymmetric Crisis in Europe and Possible Futures: Critical Political Economy and Post-Keynesian Perspectives|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-65298-4|editor1-last=Jäger|editor1-first=Johannes|page=110|chapter=Uneven development and 'European crisis constitutionalism', or the reasons for and conditions of a 'passive revolution in trouble'|editor2-last=Springler|editor2-first=Elisabeth|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JJsGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110}}</ref>  Its ruling style has also been variously described as "soft [[fascism]]",<ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary" /><ref name="Hungary's prime minister stole the country's democracy. Now Hungarians are rising up.">{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/world/2018/12/17/18144648/hungary-protest-orban-labor-democracy|title=Hungary's prime minister stole the country's democracy. Now Hungarians are rising up.|last1=Beauchamp|first1=Zack|work=Vox|date=17 December 2018|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> "soft dictatorship",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/world/europe/orban-epp.html|title=Top E.U. Coalition Suspends Party Led by Orban, Hungary's Leader|last1=Santora|first1=Marc|date=20 March 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=29 May 2019|last2=Erlanger|first2=Steven|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and "soft [[autocracy]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/viktor-orban-hungary/557246/|title=The Most Dangerous Man in the European Union|last=Lendvai|first=Paul|date=7 April 2018|website=The Atlantic|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> The Fidesz party has denied such accusations and distanced itself from the extreme right,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/ruling-hungarian-fidesz-party-adopts-policies-of-far-right-jobbik-party-a-880590.html|title=Hungarian Leader Adopts Policies of Far-Right|last1=Verseck|first1=Keno|website=Der Spiegel|date=30 January 2013|access-date=30 January 2013}}</ref> criticizing such accusations as politically motivated opposition to its [[Opposition to immigration|anti-immigrant]] policies<ref>{{cite web|last1=András|first1=Bíró|last2=Tamás|first2=Boros|last3=Áron|first3=Varga|title=Euroszkepticizmus Magyarországon|url=http://www.policysolutions.hu/userfiles/elemzesek/Euroszkepticizmus%20Magyarorsz%C3%A1gon.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906103039/http://www.policysolutions.hu/userfiles/elemzesek/Euroszkepticizmus%20Magyarorsz%C3%A1gon.pdf|archive-date=6 September 2015|website=Policy Solutions|language=hu}}</ref> and pursuit of [[illiberal democracy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-orban/hungarian-pm-sees-shift-to-illiberal-christian-democracy-in-2019-european-vote-idUSKBN1KI0BK|title=Hungarian PM sees shift to illiberal Christian democracy in 2019 European vote|work=Reuters|date=28 July 2018|access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-parliament-votes-to-trigger-article-7-sanctions-procedure-against-hungary/a-45459720|title=EU Parliament votes to trigger Article 7 sanctions procedure against Hungary|last1=Staudenmaier|first1=Rebecca|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=12 September 2018|access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Korkut|first1=Umut|title=Resentment and Reorganization: Anti-Western Discourse and the Making of Eurasianism in Hungary|url=http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/acta/38/Korkut.pdf|journal=Acta Slavica Iaponica|volume=38|pages=71–90}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Barber|first=Tony|date=9 October 2018|title=Trust in Europe's illiberal governments grows|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/00aa60ee-cbaa-11e8-b276-b9069bde0956 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/00aa60ee-cbaa-11e8-b276-b9069bde0956 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Foster|first=Peter|date=29 May 2019|title=A 'climate of fear': Hungary, inside a dying democracy propped up by the EU|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/05/29/climate-fear-hungary-inside-dying-democracy-propped-eu/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/05/29/climate-fear-hungary-inside-dying-democracy-propped-eu/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=10 January 2021|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Illiberal democracy ===
[[File:Countries democratizing or autocratizing substantially and significantly 2010–2020.svg|thumb|300x300px|Countries autocratizing (red)  or democratizing (blue) substantially and significantly (2010–2020). Countries in grey are substantially unchanged.<ref>Nazifa Alizada, Rowan Cole, Lisa Gastaldi, Sandra Grahn, Sebastian Hellmeier, Palina Kolvani, Jean Lachapelle, Anna Lührmann, Seraphine F.   Maerz, Shreeya Pillai, and Staffan I. Lindberg. 2021. Autocratization Turns Viral. Democracy Report 2021. University of Gothenburg: V-Dem Institute. https://www.v-dem.net/media/filer_public/74/8c/748c68ad-f224-4cd7-87f9-8794add5c60f/dr_2021_updated.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914030243/https://www.v-dem.net/media/filer_public/74/8c/748c68ad-f224-4cd7-87f9-8794add5c60f/dr_2021_updated.pdf |date=14 September 2021 }}</ref> Hungary was during this decade one of the countries with the most [[democratic backsliding]].]]
Orbán and other Fidesz politicians have prominently described their model of government as a Christian [[illiberal democracy]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-orban-idUSKBN1KI0BK|title=Hungarian PM sees shift to illiberal Christian democracy in 2019...|date=28 July 2018|work=Reuters|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/25/world/europe/hungary-democracy-orban.html|title=On the Surface, Hungary Is a Democracy. But What Lies Underneath?|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=25 December 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=16 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Orbán has described [[liberal democracy]] as having undemocratic characteristics because of "being intolerant of alternative views"<ref name=":3" /> and being incompatible with and antithetical to Christian democracy (saying: "Christian democracy is, by definition, not liberal: it is, if you like, illiberal.").<ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary" />  Orbán has praised [[Turkey]], [[Russia]], [[China]], and [[Singapore]] as successful examples of illiberal states.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/world/europe/viktor-orban-steers-hungary-toward-russia-25-years-after-fall-of-the-berlin-wall.html|title=Viktor Orban Steers Hungary Toward Russia 25 Years After Fall of the Berlin Wall|last1=Lyman|first1=Rick|date=7 November 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=16 March 2019|last2=Smale|first2=Alison|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/world/europe/viktor-orban-hungary-elections.html|title=Elections in Hungary Tighten Prime Minister's Hold on Power|last=Lyman|first=Rick|date=13 October 2014|work=The New York Times|access-date=16 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

====System of National Cooperation (NER)====
[[Clientelism]] plays a central role in Fidesz's governance strategy. Fidesz uses European Union and Hungarian state monies to support an extensive network of infrastructure projects, commercial enterprises, nonprofits, academic or para-academic institutions (e.g., [[Mathias Corvinus Collegium]]), and religious and cultural institutions—including the established churches like the [[Catholic Church in Hungary|Catholic]] and [[Reformed Church in Hungary|Reformed Churches]]—both within Hungary and in [[Hungarian diaspora|the diaspora]]. Fidesz uses this network to attempt to create and preserve an ethnic Hungarian [[national bourgeoisie]] or "[[The Establishment|Establishment]]" with strong financial, ideological, and familial ties to the party leadership. In return, the party expects these groups' overt or tacit political support. In Hungary, this governance strategy is (originally descriptively, but now primarily pejoratively) called the System of National Cooperation ({{lang|hu|Nemzeti Együttműködés Rendszere}}, NER).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kovács |first1=János Matyas |last2=Trencsenyi |first2=Balazs |title=Brave New Hungary: Mapping the "System of National Cooperation" |date=2019 |publisher=Lexington Books |location=Lanham, Md. |isbn=9781498543668}}</ref>

=== Economy ===
{{See also|Orbanomics}}
Like the Hungarian right in general, Fidesz has been more skeptical of the [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] economic policies than the Hungarian left. According to researchers, the elites of the Hungarian left (the [[Hungarian Socialist Party]] and the former [[Alliance of Free Democrats]]) have been differentiated from the right by being more supportive of the [[Classical liberalism|classical liberal]] economic policies, while the right (especially extreme right) has advocated more [[Economic interventionism|economic interventionist]] policies. In contrast, on issues like [[church and state]] and family policies, the liberals show alignment along the traditional left–right spectrum.<ref>Bodan Todosijević ''The Hungarian Voter: Left–Right Dimension as a Clue to Policy Preferences'' in International Political Science Review (2004), Vol 25, No. 4, p. 421</ref> In the past, Fidesz has implemented several [[Economic liberalism|economic liberal]] policies, including an income [[flat tax]], reductions in the [[corporate tax]] rate, restrictions on [[unemployment benefits]], and [[privatization]] of state-owned land.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Reuters]]|date=3 April 2018|title=RPT-As Hungary roars ahead, Orbanomics leaves some of the poorest behind|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/hungary-election-economy/rpt-as-hungary-roars-ahead-orbanomics-leaves-some-of-the-poorest-behind-idUSL5N1RG265}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[Financial Times]]|title=Hungary to offer EU's lowest corporate tax rate|date=17 November 2016|url=https://www.ft.com/content/302fa4b4-acda-11e6-9cb3-bb8207902122 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/302fa4b4-acda-11e6-9cb3-bb8207902122 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Budapest Beacon]]|title=Tiborcz and Mészáros families big winners in Fejér county land privatization
|url=https://budapestbeacon.com/tiborcz-meszaros-families-big-winners-fejer-county-land-privatization/|date=5 December 2017}}</ref>

The Fidesz government has embraced some government schemes, including "public works job program, pension hikes, utility bill cuts, a minimum wage increase and cash gifts for retirees."<ref name=":25">{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/new-communists-hungary-poland-viktor-orban-jaroslaw-kaczynski/|title=The new communists|last=Bayer|first=Lili|date=5 April 2018|work=Politico|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref> It has also implemented a national public works program<ref name=":31">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/world/europe/viktor-orban-hungary-economy-election.html|title=An Economic Miracle in Hungary, or Just a Mirage?|last1=Kingsley|first1=Patrick|date=3 April 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=14 March 2019|last2=Novak|first2=Benjamin|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> aimed in particular at assisting neglected rural communities.<ref name="Santora">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/world/europe/hungary-viktor-orban-election.html|title=Orban Campaigns on Fear, With Hungary's Democracy at Stake|last=Santora|first=Marc|date=7 April 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It has sought national control of key economic sectors while assuming a cautious stance on [[economic globalization]].<ref name=":25"/>

=== Foreign policy ===
==== NATO intervention in Yugoslavia ====
During the [[NATO]]-led [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|bombing of Yugoslavia]], Orbán refused the requests of the [[United States]] and [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] to invade the [[Vojvodina|northernmost territory of Serbia]] in order to hinder the intervention of Serbian forces in [[Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija|Kosovo]]. However, he expressed concern about the situation of the [[Hungarians in Serbia|Hungarian minority in Serbia]] and allowed NATO forces to use Hungarian airspace.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amerikanci naredili Mađarskoj da napadne Srbiju 1999. godine, Orban je to odbio |url=https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/520144/Amerikanci-naredili-Madarskoj-da-napadne-Srbiju-1999-godine-Orban-je-to-odbio |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=Politika Online}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN - Budapest fears Yugo attack on ethnic Hungarians - April 30, 1999 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9904/30/hungary.concerns/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044801/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9904/30/hungary.concerns/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2019 |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=CNN}}</ref>

==== Invasion of Iraq ====
Fidesz opposed the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] and Hungarian participation in it, questioning the international legitimacy of the invasion.<ref>{{cite news|work=Political Capital|title=Mit jelent a háború a magyar belpolitikában?|date=27 March 2003|url=https://politicalcapital.hu/konyvtar.php?article_read=1&article_id=993}}</ref>

==== European Union ====
Despite the conflict with the [[European People's Party]] and [[European Union]] (EU) institutions, Fidesz and the Orbán government have claimed to be not in conflict with, but purportedly in line with pan-European values. As he struggled to maintain rapport with the EPP, Orbán began forming a right-wing populist alliance to electorally challenge the conservative EU establishment despite voicing a desire for Fidesz to remain a member.<ref name=":9"/><ref name="Reuters">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-eu-epp-idUSKCN1QM1MZ|title=European conservative gives ultimatum to Hungarian leader|date=5 March 2019|work=Reuters|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref> Orbán and his government have clashed with the EU over the handling of the [[2015 European migrant crisis|2014–2016 European migrant crisis]] and the [[Capital punishment|death penalty]], which is prohibited by EU rules.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/world/europe/viktor-orban-european-peoples-party.html|title=E.U.'s Leadership Seeks to Contain Hungary's Orban|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=11 September 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=13 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/30/eu-jean-claude-juncker-viktor-orban-hungary-death-penalty-return|title=EU chief warns Hungary over return of death penalty comments|last=Traynor|first=Ian|date=30 April 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 March 2019|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==== Russia and Ukraine ====
Hungary was the only EU member state to vote against financial aid for Ukraine during its conflict with Russia-sponsored separatists, and has been a vocal critic of EU sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/hungary-relationship-russia-send-message-eu-180919131248490.html|title=Does Hungary's relationship with Russia send a message to the EU?|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref> The main cause is that since 2017, [[Hungary–Ukraine relations|relations with Ukraine]] rapidly deteriorated over the issue of the [[Hungarians in Ukraine|Hungarian minority in Ukraine]]. Hungary has been obstructing Ukraine's integration efforts in the EU and NATO, even though Hungary has also been continuously helping and supporting Ukraine, with an exceptional attention to [[Zakarpattia Oblast|Transcarpathia]].<ref>"[https://www.neweurope.eu/article/hungary-ukraine-relations-hit-new-low-troop-deployment/ Hungary-Ukraine relations hit new low over troop deployment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331181346/https://www.neweurope.eu/article/hungary-ukraine-relations-hit-new-low-troop-deployment/ |date=31 March 2019 }}". ''New Europe''. 26 March 2018.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/hungary-again-blocks-nato-ukraine-commission-vows-to-continue.html|title=Hungary again blocks NATO-Ukraine Commission, vows to continue – KyivPost – Ukraine's Global Voice|date=3 October 2018|website=Kyiv Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.magyaridok.hu/kulfold/szijjarto-peter-magyarorszag-aranyos-valaszt-ad-ukrajnanak-ha-kiutasitanak-a-konzult-3508439/|title=Szijjártó Péter: Magyarország arányos választ ad Ukrajnának, ha kiutasítanák a konzult}}</ref> Orbán has strongly criticized EU sanctions against Russia but abstained from vetoing them. The Fidesz government joined the UK-led diplomatic offensive after the [[poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal]], expelling [[List of diplomatic missions of Russia|Russian embassy]] officials. Orbán has hailed Russia as an exemplary case of illiberal democracy.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|last1=Janjevic |first1=Darko |title=Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban's special relationship |url=https://www.dw.com/en/vladimir-putin-and-viktor-orbans-special-relationship/a-45512712 |access-date=12 October 2019 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=13 March 2019}}</ref>

During his prime ministership, Orbán has been described as drawing closer to Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]].<ref name=":9"/> The closer relationship between the two leaders and nations has however largely been motivated by a tighter economic relationship,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> part of the government's "Eastern Opening" strategy, announced in 2011.<ref name=":2" />

The [[Fourth Orbán Government]] initially strongly condemned the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], aligning the country with [[NATO]] and the [[European Union]] on the matter: Orbán announced that Hungary would be sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but declined to send military equipment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-24 |title=PM Orbán: "Together with Our EU and NATO Allies, We Condemn Russia's Military Attack" |url=https://hungarytoday.hu/orban-russia-attack-condems-aggression/ |access-date= |website=Hungary Today}}</ref> President [[János Áder]] (also a Fidesz member) strongly condemned the Russian invasion, comparing it to the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-26 |title=President Áder: Hungary Strongly Condemns Russia's Attack on Ukraine |url=https://hungarytoday.hu/ader-russia-ukraine-hungary-president-attack-1956/ |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=Hungary Today}}</ref> However, Fidesz soon realigned with its formerly pro-Russian position: the party repeatedly opposed sanctions against the Russian Federation, prompting international press to describe Orbán as "a key Putin's ally".<ref>{{Cite news |last= |date=2022-03-11 |title=Hungary PM Orban says EU will not sanction Russian gas or oil |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungary-pm-orban-says-eu-will-not-sanction-russian-gas-or-oil-2022-03-11/ |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bardi |first1=Balint |last2=Picheta |first2=Robi |date=4 April 2022 |title=Viktor Orban, key Putin ally, calls Zelensky an 'opponent' after winning Hungary election |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/03/europe/hungary-election-results-viktor-orban-intl/index.html |access-date= |website=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Orbán has called for Russia and the United States to negotiate a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, stating that the Ukrainians could not win the war militarily.<ref>{{cite news|work=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/23/hungarys-orban-says-poor-ukrainians-cannot-win-the-war|title=Hungary's Orban says 'poor Ukrainians' cannot win against Russia|date=23 May 2023}}</ref>

=== Nativism and immigration ===
Fidesz adopted [[anti-immigration]] stances and rhetoric in the mid-2010s in the context of the [[2015 European migrant crisis|European migrant crisis]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/10/12/447911182/a-race-to-the-far-right-in-hungarian-politics|title=A Race to the Far Right in Hungarian Politics|publisher=NPR|access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hungary-eu-referendum-refugee-quota-migrant-crisis-xenophobia-border-control-racism-a7341276.html|title=Hungary set to reject EU refugee quotas in referendum|date=2 October 2016|work=The Independent|access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/annabel-tremlett/hungary's-future-antiimmigration-antimulticulturalism-and-antiro|title=Hungary's future: anti-immigration, anti-multiculturalism and anti-Roma?|date=3 August 2015|website=openDemocracy|access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/02/hungary-government-condemned-over-anti-immigration-drive|title=Hungary government condemned over anti-immigration drive|last=Nolan|first=Daniel|date=2 July 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=28 February 2017|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> However, starting in the early 2020s, the Orbán government began admitting increasing numbers of foreign guest workers into Hungary due to a labor shortage resulting from strong economic growth, native [[population decline]], and rising wages.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/hungary-loudly-opposed-to-immigration-opens-doors-to-more-foreign-workers-11567944008|title=Hungary, Loudly Opposed to Immigration, Opens Doors to More Foreign Workers|first=Bojan Pancevski in Budapest and Adam Bihari in Mór|last=Hungary|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=8 September 2019|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/immigration-foreigners-hungary-work-growing/|title=Number of Foreigners Coming to Hungary to Work Growing|work=Hungary Today|date=24 September 2019|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-date=1 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001060751/https://hungarytoday.hu/immigration-foreigners-hungary-work-growing/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/19841/in-orban-s-hungary-more-migrants-due-to-labor-shortage|title=In Orban's Hungary, more migrants due to labor shortage|date=30 September 2019|website=InfoMigrants}}</ref>

Fidesz is opposed to [[multiculturalism]]. In a 2018 address, Orbán said: "We must state that we do not want to be diverse and do not want to be mixed: we do not want our own color, traditions and national culture to be mixed with those of others. We do not want this. We do not want that at all. We do not want to be a diverse country."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.miniszterelnok.hu/prime-minister-viktor-orbans-speech-at-the-annual-general-meeting-of-the-association-of-cities-with-county-rights/|title=Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's speech at the annual general meeting of the Association of Cities with County Rights – miniszterelnok.hu|website=miniszterelnok.hu|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref> Orbán has "often expressed a preference for a racially homogeneous society."<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=25 December 2018|title=On the Surface, Hungary Is a Democracy. But What Lies Underneath?|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/25/world/europe/hungary-democracy-orban.html|access-date=13 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The government has modified the country's Constitution to make it illegal to "settle foreign populations in Hungary."<ref name=":27">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/world/europe/hungary-stop-soros-law.html|title=Hungary Criminalizes Aiding Illegal Immigrants|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=20 June 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Despite a very low fertility rate that has led to a demographic deficit, the Fidesz government has remained steadfastly opposed to economic immigration that has been harnessed by other European countries to relieve its worker deficits. Instead, the government announced pecuniary incentives (including eliminating taxes for mothers with more than 3 children, and reducing credit payments and easier access to government-subsidized mortgages), and expanding day care and kindergarten access.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/world/europe/orban-hungary-babies-mothers-population-immigration.html|title=Orban Encourages Mothers in Hungary to Have 4 or More Babies|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=11 February 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=13 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Fidesz government's child incentive program also offers a 10-million-forint government-subsidized zero-interest loan to married couples who are willing to have a baby after 1 July 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bank360.hu/en/blog/hungary-childbirth-incentive-program-2019|title=Hungary's new childbirth incentive program {{!}} Bank360|website=bank360.hu|language=hu|access-date=24 July 2019}}</ref>

=== Social policy ===
Changes passed by the Fidesz government have given citizens the right to use arms for self-defense on one's own property.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/ruling-hungarian-fidesz-party-adopts-policies-of-far-right-jobbik-party-a-880590.html|title=Blurring Boundaries: Hungarian Leader Adopts Policies of Far-Right|last=Verseck|first=Keno|date=30 January 2013|work=Der Spiegel|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref> Fidesz has passed legislation [[Anti-homelessness legislation|criminalising homelessness]].<ref name=":34">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/world/europe/hungary-orban-democracy-far-right.html|title=As West Fears the Rise of Autocrats, Hungary Shows What's Possible|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=10 February 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Fidesz has opposed proposals supported by [[Jobbik]] and [[LMP – Hungary's Green Party|LMP]] to require nightclubs in Budapest to close after midnight.<ref>{{cite news|date=4 October 2017|work=Daily News Hungary|title=The party quarter in Budapest – Council proposes local referendum on nightclub opening hours|url=https://dailynewshungary.com/party-quarter-budapest-council-proposes-local-referendum-nightclub-opening-hours/}}</ref>

==== Christianity ====
Orbán has on multiple occasions emphasized upholding Christian values as central to his government,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/hungary-orban-vows-defence-christian-europe-190210195421238.html|title=Hungary's Orban vows defence of 'Christian' Europe|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/orban-christian-migrants-pledges-to-keep-hungary-safe/|title=Orbán pledges to keep Hungary safe and Christian|last=Aleksandra Wróbel|date=7 May 2018|work=Politico|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hungary-general-election-viktor-orban-latest-christianity-nationalism-muslims-migrants-europe-racism-a8293836.html|title=Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban vows to create 'Christian homeland' ahead of general election|date=7 April 2018|website=The Independent|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://profam.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Christmas-Speech-from-Viktor-Orban-2017-Prime-Minister-of-Hungary.pdf|title=We must defend Christian culture|last=Orban|first=Viktor}}</ref> and has described his government as creating a Christian democracy.<ref name=":21" /><ref name=":3" /> Hungarian Catholic bishop [[András Veres]] described some of Fidesz' policies, such as providing free IVF treatment for couples at state-run clinics, as being at odds with some Christian denominations, particularly the [[Catholic Church in Hungary|Roman Catholic Church]], which opposes IVF.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://magyarnemzet.hu/archivum/belfold-archivum/veres-andras-a-lombikbebiprogram-minden-formaja-bun-3884376/|title=Veres András: A lombikbébiprogram minden formája bűn|last=Ágnes Kovacsik|date=24 August 2017|work=Magyar Nemzet|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref> Orbán is a member of the [[Reformed Church in Hungary]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chitwood |first=Ken |title=Hungarian Evangelicals Thank God for Viktor Orbán Victory |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/april/orban-hungary-evangelical-election-voices-choice-conservati.html |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=News & Reporting |date=18 April 2022}}</ref> However, the party has been described as taking a more secular position on abortion, the role of the church and education than its ally, the [[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|Christian Democratic People's Party]].<ref>{{cite book|page=227|title=Coalition Governance in Central Eastern Europe|year=2019|chapter=Hungary: From Coalitions to One-Party Dominance|publisher=Oxford University Press|first=Gabriella|last=Ilonszki}}</ref>

==== Family policy ====
Fidesz is opposed to an [[abortion ban]], instead preferring to promote [[natalism]].<ref>{{cite news|work=Wall Street Journal|title=Hungary Wants More Children, But Won't Ban Abortion|date=25 February 2011|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-NEB-3948}}</ref> However, the Fidesz government has introduced a requirement for women seeking abortions to listen to a pulse generated by the ultrasound monitor before making their decision.<ref>{{Cite news|work=Euronews|date=16 August 2023|url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/08/16/dozens-of-hungarian-women-travel-to-austria-for-abortions-every-week-amid-tightening-laws|title=Dozens of Hungarian women travel to Austria for abortions every week, amid tightening laws}}</ref>

The Fidesz government has introduced loan subsidies for married couples that have three or more children<ref>{{cite news|work=Euronews|date=29 July 2019|title=Hungary offers €30,000 to married couples who can produce three children|url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/29/hungary-offers-30-000-to-married-couples-who-can-produce-three-children}}</ref> and a personal income tax exemption for women that have four or more children.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/10/viktor-orban-no-tax-for-hungarian-women-with-four-or-more-children|title=Viktor Orbán: no tax for Hungarian women with four or more children|date=10 February 2019}}</ref>

=== Other ===
==== Anti-communism ====
The party is [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]].<ref name="yahoo">"[https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/eu-chief-defends-marx-controversial-speech-mark-communists-birth-173609688.html?guccounter=1 EU chief defends Marx in controversial speech to mark communist's birth]". Yahoo News. 4 May 2018.</ref> In May 2018, the President of the [[European Commission]] [[Jean-Claude Juncker]] attended and spoke at a celebration of the deceased [[Karl Marx]]'s 200th birthday, where he defended Marx's legacy. In response, MEPs from Fidesz wrote: "Marxist ideology led to the death of tens of millions and ruined the lives of hundreds of millions. The celebration of its founder is a mockery of their memory."<ref name="yahoo" />

The Fidesz government spokesman Zoltán Kovács justified the government's controversial policies as an effort to "get rid of the remnants of communism that are still with us, not only in terms of institutions but in terms of mentality."<ref name=":34" />

During the party's rule, statues of communists regarded as traitors have been removed with Fidesz politicians in attendance. In December 2018, Hungarian authorities removed a statue of [[Imre Nagy]] for renovation. Nagy was a Hungarian reformist communist politician who led the failed anti-Soviet [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|1956 Hungarian Revolution]] and was later executed for his role in the uprising; the statue was replaced with a memorial dedicated to the victims of the short-lived [[Hungarian Soviet Republic|1919 Hungarian Soviet Republic]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46704111|title=Hungary removes uprising hero's statue|date=28 December 2018|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref>

==== Poster campaigns and National Consultations ====
In addition to regular political advertising, Fidesz directs government organs to use taxpayer money to regularly produce and disseminate two major forms of [[Propaganda techniques|political propaganda]] in Hungary: poster campaigns and so-called "National Consultations." These two techniques are meant to influence public opinion about controversial issues outside of the legally demarcated campaign season.

Past poster campaign subjects have included a grinning [[George Soros]] while calling on the citizens to oppose his purported support of illegal immigration (many of the posters portraying Soros, who is Jewish, were defaced with antisemitic graffiti);<ref name="Beauchamp">{{Cite web|url= https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/22/17493070/hungary-stop-soros-orban|title=Hungary just passed a 'Stop Soros' law that makes it illegal to help undocumented migrants|last= Beauchamp|first= Zack |date= 22 June 2018|website=Vox|access-date= 14 March 2019}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/11/08/hungary-accused-of-hatemongering-in-national-survey-targeting-george-soros |title=Hungary accused of 'hatemongering' in national survey targeting George Soros |last=Bearak |first=Max |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Soros and [[President of the European Commission]] [[Jean-Claude Juncker]] laughing together, with text suggesting Soros controls major European institutions (while also disseminating the accusation by letters sent to all Hungarian citizens);<ref name="Rankin">{{Cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/19/brussels-orban-jean-claude-juncker-poster-george-soros-hungary|title=Brussels accuses Orbán of peddling conspiracy theory with Juncker poster |last=Rankin|first= Jennifer |date=19 February 2019|work= The Guardian|access-date= 14 March 2019 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite news|url= https://www.politico.eu/article/commission-hits-back-over-hungarys-anti-juncker-campaign/ |title= Commission hits back over Hungary's anti-Juncker campaign|last=Bayer|first=Lili|date= 28 February 2019 |work=Politico |access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite news|url= https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-launches-campaign-targeting-jean-claude-juncker-george-soros/|title=Hungary launches campaign targeting Jean-Claude Juncker|last=Bayer|first=Lili|date= 18 February 2019|work=Politico |access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref> and the "[[distracted boyfriend]]" internet meme, retooled to promote family values.<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47557217|title='Distracted boyfriend' in pro-family ad|date=13 March 2019|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-uses-distracted-boyfriend-meme-couple-in-new-campaign-budapest-juncker-soros/ |title=Hungary uses 'distracted boyfriend' meme couple in new campaign |last=Dallison|first= Paul|date=13 March 2019|work= Politico |access-date= 14 March 2019}}</ref> These "information campaigns" or "national messaging initiatives," as successive Fidesz governments have called them, have been allocated annual budgets in the tens of millions of euros.<ref name=":28">{{Cite news|url= https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-media-empire-hungary-election-antal-rogan-fidesz-propaganda/|title= Orbán's media puppetmaster|date= 4 April 2018|work=Politico |access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref>

National Consultations, meanwhile, are questionnaires sent to all citizens that survey their opinions on government policy and legislation. By posing [[loaded questions]], Fidesz uses these questionnaires to disseminate Fidesz's ideological positions and agenda. A 2015 Consultation, for example, explicitly referred to a "Soros plan" to "convince Brussels to resettle at least one million immigrants from Africa and the Middle East annually on the territory of the European Union, including Hungary," wrote that this "is part of the Soros plan to launch political attacks on countries objecting to immigration and impose strict penalties on them," and then asked citizens whether they agree. Another questionnaire about family policy used the term "Brussels bureaucrats."<ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite journal|first=Ákos |last=Bocskor |date=June 2018 |title=Anti-Immigration Discourses in Hungary during the 'Crisis' Year: The Orbán Government's 'National Consultation' Campaign of 2015 |journal=Sociology|volume=52|issue=3|pages=551–568 |doi= 10.1177/0038038518762081|s2cid= 149914301}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Byrne |first1=Andrew |date=3 October 2017 |title=Hungary steps up anti-Soros rhetoric with 'national consultation' |newspaper=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/76ce19e4-a768-11e7-93c5-648314d2c72c |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/76ce19e4-a768-11e7-93c5-648314d2c72c |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= https://bbj.hu/politics/govt-launches-national-consultation-on-families-blasts-eu_157142 |title=Govʼt launches 'National Consultation' on families, blasts EU|website= Budapest Business Journal |access-date= 14 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="Santora" /> On other occasions, such as just prior to elections, the government sent letters notifying citizens that it will reduce their gas payments by €38 and sent pensioners gift vouchers.<ref name=":25" />

== Organization ==

=== Leaders ===
{| class="sortable wikitable"
!
! Image
! Name
! Entered office
! Left office
! Length of Leadership
! Note
|-
! 1
| [[File:Pha01 mariavaleriabridge Orban cropped 2.jpg|60px]]
| [[Viktor Orbán]]
| 18 April 1993
| 29 January 2000
| {{ayd|1993|04|18|2000|01|29}} 
| Prime Minister, 1998–2002
|-
! 2
| [[File:László Kövér Senate of Poland 01.JPG|60px]]
| [[László Kövér]]
| 29 January 2000
| 6 May 2001
| {{ayd|2000|01|29|2001|05|06}} 
| 
|-
! 3
| [[File:Pokorni Zoltan 2008-10-23 (crop).JPG|60px]]
| [[Zoltán Pokorni]]
| 6 May 2001
| 3 July 2002
| {{ayd|2001|05|06|2002|07|03}} 
|
|-
! 4
| [[File:Ader Janos.jpg|60px]]
| [[János Áder]] 
| 3 July 2002
| 17 May 2003
| {{ayd|2002|07|03|2003|05|17}} 
| 
|-
! 5
| [[File:Viktor Orban.jpg|60px]]
| [[Viktor Orbán]]
| 17 May 2003
| ''Incumbent''
| {{ayd|2003|5|17}}
| Prime Minister, 2010–present
|-
|}

=== Youth wing ===
The Fidesz youth affiliate [[Fidelitas (Hungary)|Fidelitas]] was founded in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Közösség {{!}} Fidelitas |url=https://fidelitas.hu/kozosseg |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=fidelitas.hu |language=hu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Origo |date=2012-07-30 |title=Így építkezett Orbán felfedezettje - Rogán Antal pályájának titkos története I. |url=https://www.origo.hu/itthon/20120726-rogan-antal-portre-fidelitas-orban-viktor-fidesz-szakonyfalu.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.origo.hu |language=hu}}</ref> In December 2022, Dániel Farkas was elected president, succeeding Boglárka Illés.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mariann |first=Krupincza |title=Tisztújító kongresszust tartott a Fidelitas – Farkas Dániel lett a szervezet új elnöke|url=https://mandiner.hu/cikk/20221203_belfold_kozelet_fidelitas_tisztujitas_tudositas |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=Mandiner |date=3 December 2022 |language=hu}}</ref> Fidelitas is a member of [[European Democrat Students]] (EDS)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Members |url=http://www.edsnet.eu/members/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=European Democrat Students}}</ref> and the [[International Young Democrat Union|International Young Democracy Union]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-07-08 |title=Members |url=https://iydu.org/members/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=IYDU |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024070034/https://iydu.org/members/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== International affiliations ==
Fidesz was a member of the [[Liberal International]] from 1992 to 2000. From 2000 to 2024, it was a member of the [[International Democracy Union]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.idu.org/members/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301182135/https://www.idu.org/members/ | archive-date=1 March 2024 | title=Members &#124; International Democracy Union | date=February 2018 }}</ref> It is currently a member of [[Centrist Democrat International]].

'''<big>European Union</big>'''

Following its ideological turn to conservatism, it joined the centre-right [[European People's Party]] (EPP) but was suspended on 20 March 2019. Fidesz MEPs left the [[European People's Party group]] in the [[European Parliament]] on 3 March 2021,<ref name="DW2">{{cite news|date=18 March 2021|title=Hungary: Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party quits European People's Party|agency=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/hungary-viktor-orbans-ruling-fidesz-party-quits-european-peoples-party/a-56919987|accessdate=1 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="Fid-EPP2">{{cite news|last1=de la Baume|first1=Maïa|last2=Bayer|first2=Lili|date=21 March 2019|title=Hungary's Orbán clings on to Europe's power center|website=Politico|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/orbans-party-suspended-from-european-peoples-party/|access-date=21 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=3 March 2021|title=Orbán's Fidesz quits EPP group in European Parliament|website=Politico|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/epp-suspension-rules-fidesz-european-parliament-viktor-orban-hungary/}}</ref> after the EPP changed its rules to allow it to expel a party's entire delegation.<ref>{{cite tweet |title= Fidesz has decided to leave the EPP Group.|number=1367053668458106881 |access-date= 3 March 2021|date= 3 March 2021|user=KatalinNovakMP}}</ref><ref name="Fid-EPP">{{cite news|title= Hungary's Orbán clings on to Europe's power center|url= https://www.politico.eu/article/orbans-party-suspended-from-european-peoples-party/ |access-date= 21 March 2019|date= 21 March 2019|website=Politico|last1=de la Baume|first1=Maïa|last2=Bayer|first2=Lili}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Henley|first=Jon|date=3 March 2021|title=Hungary's Fidesz party to leave European parliament centre-right group|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/03/hungarys-fidesz-party-to-leave-european-parliament-centre-right-group}}</ref><ref name="DW">{{cite news|agency=Deutsche Welle|title=Hungary: Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party quits European People's Party|date=18 March 2021|url=https://www.dw.com/en/hungary-viktor-orbans-ruling-fidesz-party-quits-european-peoples-party/a-56919987|accessdate=1 August 2021}}</ref> It has served with the [[Non-Inscrits]] since then.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brzozowski|first1=Alexandra|last2=Makszimov|first2=Vlagyiszlav|date=3 March 2021|title=Orbán's Fidesz leaves EPP Group before being kicked out|agency=Euractiv|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/future-eu/news/orban-fidesz-leaves-epp-group-before-being-kicked-out/|access-date=4 March 2021}}</ref>

In July 2021, Fidesz signed a joint declaration with [[National Rally]], [[Law and Justice]], [[Vox (political party)|Vox]], the [[Lega Nord|League]], the [[Brothers of Italy]], the [[Estonian Conservative People's Party]], the [[Freedom Party of Austria]], Belgium's [[Vlaams Belang]], the [[Danish People's Party]], the [[Finns Party]], [[VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement]], [[Greek Solution]], the Romanian [[Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party]] and [[Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance]] on the future of the EU.<ref>{{cite news|date=2 July 2021|title=Orbán, Le Pen, Salvini, Kaczyński join forces to impact on the future of EU|work=[[Euractiv]]|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/orban-le-pen-salvini-kaczynski-join-forces-to-impact-on-the-future-of-eu/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=6 July 2021|title=Orban, Le Pen, Salvini, Kaczynski join forces to impact on the future of EU|work=European Business Review|url=https://www.europeanbusinessreview.eu/page.asp?pid=5151}}</ref>

In December 2021, the party participated in the Warsaw summit with Law and Justice, the Estonian Conservative People's Party, the Finns Party, the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party, Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance, the Freedom Party of Austria, Vox, National Rally, Vlaams Belang and the Dutch [[JA21]], signing a document outlining new collaboration at the EU level between the parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.euractiv.pl/section/demokracja/news/warszawa-polska-le-pen-orban-kaczynski-salvini-lazienki-putin-rosja-unia-europejska-ecr-parlament-warszawa-warsaw-summit-pis-fidesz/ |title=Marine Le Pen i Viktor Orban w Warszawie. Europejska prawica dyskutuje o przyszłości UE – EURACTIV.pl|date=4 December 2021}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite news|work=Deutsche Welle|title=European populist far-right parties meet in Warsaw|date=5 December 2022|url=https://www.dw.com/en/european-populist-far-right-parties-meet-in-warsaw/a-60023500}}</ref>

In January 2022, the party participated in the Madrid summit, hosted by Vox, alongside National Rally, Law and Justice, Vlaams Belang, JA21, the Estonian Conservative People's Party, the Freedom Party of Austria, VMRO - Bulgarian National Movement, the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party and Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance, signing a joint declaration on policies towards the EU and Russia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/delegation-of-patriotic-national-conservatives-gather-in-madrid/ | title=Pan-European Delegation of National-Conservatives Gather in Madrid ━ the European Conservative | date=28 January 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/far-right-leaders-agree-on-roadmap-for-sovereign-and-patriotic-europe/ | title=Far-right leaders agree on 'roadmap for sovereign and patriotic Europe' | date=31 January 2022 }}</ref>

In November 2022, Fidesz MEPs signed a cooperation agreement with MEPs from [[Sovereign Poland]], Vox, Lega, the Freedom Party of Austria and the National Rally to collaborate within the European Parliament.<ref>{{cite news|work=Ansa|url=https://www.ansa.it/europa/notizie/rubriche/voceeurodeputati/2022/11/24/migranti-id-ecr-fidesz-firmano-a-pe-documento-congiunto_01f13a6a-18ef-4a12-bccc-13e672d709c2.html|date=24 November 2022|title=Migranti: Id-Ecr-Fidesz firmano a Pe documento congiunto}}</ref>
[[File:Patriots for Europe MEPs map.svg|alt=Map of Patriots for Europe, European Parliament Group representation|thumb|267x267px|Patriots for Europe has MEPs in 13 member states. Dark purple indicates member states sending multiple MEPs, light purple indicates member states sending a single MEP.]]

In June 2024, Fidesz announced its intention to form the [[Patriots for Europe]] parliamentary group in the [[European Parliament]], which subsequently included the Czech [[ANO 2011]], [[Motorists for Themselves]] and [[Přísaha]], the [[Freedom Party of Austria]], the Portuguese [[Chega (political party)|Chega]], the Dutch [[Party for Freedom]], the French [[National Rally (France)|National Rally]], the Italian [[Lega (political party)|Lega]], the [[Danish People's Party]], the Belgian [[Vlaams Belang]], the Spanish [[Vox (political party)|Vox]], [[Latvia First]] and the Greek [[Voice of Reason (political party)|Voice of Reason]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-czech-austria-right-new-alliance-patriots-europe/33014393.html|title=Orban, Allies Announce Right-Wing 'Patriots For Europe' Alliance|first=RFE/RL's Hungarian|last=Service|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/portugal-chega-party-andre-ventura-join-viktor-orban-new-far-right-alliance/|title=Portugal's Chega party to join Orbán's new far-right alliance|date=1 July 2024|website=POLITICO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/zoltanspox/status/1810246146142413033?s=46&t=5ykVSjLUcF5_QLpfJWkkJg|title=x.com|accessdate=July 8, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/matteosalvinimi/status/1810220106703626327|title=x.com|work=X (formerly Twitter) |accessdate=July 8, 2024}}</ref> 

In September 2024, Fidesz joined the pan-European political party [[Patriots.eu]], which includes the members of the Patriots for Europe group and the [[Estonian Conservative People's Party]].<ref>{{cite news|work=Patriots.eu|url=https://patriots.eu/news/f/patriotseu-welcomes-four-new-member-parties|date=26 September 2024|title=Patriots.eu welcomes four new member parties|archive-date=8 March 2025|access-date=3 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250308122338/https://patriots.eu/news/f/patriotseu-welcomes-four-new-member-parties|url-status=dead}}</ref>

'''<big>European countries</big>'''

;Austria

Orbán has more recently cultivated close ties between Fidesz and the [[Freedom Party of Austria]] (FPÖ), noting "strategic cooperation" between the parties and "friendly ties based on mutual confidence and Christian-conservative values".<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 September 2019|title=Orbán: Fidesz-FPÖ Strategic Cooperation Set to Continue|work=Hungary Today|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/orban-fidesz-fpo-hofer-cooperation/|access-date=26 October 2019|archive-date=26 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026141930/https://hungarytoday.hu/orban-fidesz-fpo-hofer-cooperation/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Prior to the [[2019 Austrian legislative election]], he held a joint press conference with FPÖ leader [[Norbert Hofer]], where he wished the party success in the upcoming election and stressed the "similar views" of the two parties.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prime Minister Viktor Orbán hopes that Austria will have a strong and stable government that rejects political Islam|url=https://www.kormany.hu/en/the-prime-minister/news/prime-minister-viktor-orban-hopes-that-austria-will-have-a-strong-and-stable-government-that-rejects-political-islam|access-date=2020-07-18|website=Government|archive-date=26 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026141931/https://www.kormany.hu/en/the-prime-minister/news/prime-minister-viktor-orban-hopes-that-austria-will-have-a-strong-and-stable-government-that-rejects-political-islam|url-status=dead}}</ref>

;Belgium

Hungarian Justice Minister [[Judit Varga (politician)|Judit Varga]] addressed a rally in [[Antwerp]] hosted by [[Vlaams Belang]] in June 2022, alongside representatives of other [[Identity and Democracy Party]] member parties.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20220621_97548244 | title=De ene nog extremer dan de andere: Vlaams Belang nodigt dubieuze figuren uit op Europese meeting | date=22 June 2022 }}</ref>

;Bosnia
Orbán released a video message endorsing [[Milorad Dodik]], the leader of the [[Alliance of Independent Social Democrats]] (SNSD) and the President of [[Republika Srpska]], ahead of the [[2022 Bosnian general election]].<ref>{{cite news|work=Balkan Insight|title=Hungary's Orban Champions Bosnian Serb Chief Ahead of Elections|date=29 September 2022|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/09/29/hungarys-orban-champions-bosnian-serb-chief-ahead-of-elections/}}</ref> Orbán's government has reportedly provided political and financial support to the SNSD.<ref>{{cite news|work=Lansing Institute|title=Beyond nationalism and euroscepticism, Orban and Dodik's ambitions to restore the Empire|date=31 March 2023|url=https://lansinginstitute.org/2023/03/31/beyond-nationalism-and-euroscepticism-orban-and-dodiks-ambitions-to-restore-the-empire/}}</ref>

;Czech Republic

Orbán sent a letter of support to [[Václav Klaus Jr.]]'s newly formed [[Tricolour Citizens' Movement]] in the Czech Republic in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Trikolóra zahájila sněm mažoretkami, Klaus nemá vyzyvatele - Novinky.cz|url=https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/trikolora-zahajila-snem-mazoretkami-klaus-zatim-nema-vyzyvatele-40298032|website=www.novinky.cz|date=28 September 2019 }}</ref> Orbán has a relationship with Klaus's father, President [[Václav Klaus]], who has expressed support for Orbán's rule.<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 February 2018|title=Václav Klaus: Europe Does Not Need Organized Migration|work=Hungary Today|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/vaclav-klaus-europe-need-organized-migration-98522/|access-date=5 April 2020|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041302/https://hungarytoday.hu/vaclav-klaus-europe-need-organized-migration-98522/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the [[2021 Czech parliamentary election]], Orbán endorsed Czech Prime Minister and [[ANO 2011]] leader [[Andrej Babiš]], appearing alongside him at campaign events in the Czech Republic.<ref>{{cite news|date=29 September 2021|work=[[Reuters]]|title=Hungary's Orban hits Czech campaign trail to back PM Babis|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungarys-orban-hits-czech-campaign-trail-back-pm-babis-2021-09-29/}}</ref>

;Croatia

Orbán expressed strong support for [[Tomislav Karamarko]]'s leadership of the [[Croatian Democratic Union]] (HDZ), having written a letter endorsing Karamarko for his stance on immigration that was read out at an HDZ rally during the [[2015 Croatian parliamentary election]] campaign.<ref>{{cite news|date=11 July 2015|title=Croatian election hinges on migration and the economy|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/croatia-election-migrants-asylum-borders-election/}}</ref>

Fidesz later established contacts with the International Secretary of the [[Homeland Movement (Croatia)|Homeland Movement]], [[Stephen Nikola Bartulica]].<ref>{{cite news|title=FOTO Bartulica pozirao s Orbanom: 'Ne smijemo se predati u borbi protiv rodne ideologije i uništavanja obitelji'|date=29 April 2024|url=https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/bartulica-pozirao-s-orbanom-ne-smijemo-se-predati-u-borbi-protiv-rodne-ideologije-i-unistavanja-obitelji-1765190|work=Večernji list}}</ref>

;France

Orbán initially rejected association with [[Marine Le Pen]]'s [[National Rally]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Link between Italy's Salvini and Hungary's Orban downplayed|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/link-italys-salvini-hungarys-orban-downplayed-63372890|website=ABC News}}</ref> and instead endorsed [[François Fillon]], the candidate of [[The Republicans (France)|The Republicans]], in the [[2017 French presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 January 2017|title=Hungary's Orban praises Trump's 'end of multilateralism'|url=https://apnews.com/71de471223cc486cac44f6c70e448133|website=AP NEWS}}</ref>

However, in 2021, Fidesz opened relations with National Rally, congratulating Le Pen on her re-election as the party's leader.<ref>{{cite news|date=4 July 2021|title=France's far-right National Rally party reelects Le Pen as its leader|work=[[Euronews]]|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/07/04/france-s-far-right-national-rally-party-reelects-le-pen-as-its-leader}}</ref>  Orbán subsequently hosted Le Pen during her October 2021 visit to Budapest and had discussions with her regarding a formal alliance between the parties.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Euractiv]]|title=Orban, Le Pen talk alliance in Budapest|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/orban-le-pen-talk-alliance-in-budapest/|date=27 October 2021}}</ref> Orbán released a video of support for Le Pen during the [[2022 French presidential election]], which was aired at one of her campaign rallies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/marine-le-pen-and-eric-zemmour-face-off-in-rival-rallies/ |title=Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour face off in rival rallies – POLITICO|date=5 February 2022}}</ref>

Orbán also has relations with [[Reconquête]] leader [[Éric Zemmour]], hosting him in Budapest in September 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hungarytoday.hu/pm-orban-meet-french-politican-eric-zemmour-budapest-hungary-elections/ |title=PM Orbán to Meet French Journalist, Politician Éric Zemmour in Budapest - Hungary Today|date=23 September 2021}}</ref>

;Germany

Fidesz initially rejected cooperation with [[Alternative for Germany]] (AfD), describing the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany]] and the [[Christian Social Union in Bavaria]] as its natural allies there.<ref>{{cite news|date=12 April 2021|title=Novák: Fidesz 'Ready to Fill House of European Conservatives with Life'|work=Hungary Today|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/novak-welt-am-sonntag-fidesz-future/|archive-date=29 August 2021|access-date=29 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829092222/https://hungarytoday.hu/novak-welt-am-sonntag-fidesz-future/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

However, in February 2025, Orbán invited AfD co-leader [[Alice Weidel]] to meet with him in Budapest.<ref>{{cite news|work=NZZ|title=«Wir waren das schwarze Schaf des Westens. Nun zeigt sich: Wir sind die Zukunft», sagt Viktor Orban|date=3 February 2025|url=https://www.nzz.ch/international/viktor-orban-ueber-sein-vertrauen-in-putin-trumps-rolle-im-krieg-und-ungarns-weg-ld.1869123}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Telex|title=Orbán to welcome AfD's Alice Weidel in Budapest|date=3 February 2025|url=https://telex.hu/english/2025/02/03/orban-to-receive-afds-alice-weidel-in-budapest}}</ref> After the meeting, Orbán stated that with the rise in AfD's support, the German government could no longer penalise cooperation with it, and expressed his belief that "the AfD is the future".<ref>{{cite news|work=Politico|title=German far right wants to join forces with Orbán to dismantle EU from within|date=12 February 2025|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/alternative-for-germany-afd-alice-weidel-far-right-viktor-orban-hungary/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Financial Times|title=Far-right AfD is 'future' of Germany, says Hungary's Viktor Orbán|url=https://www.ft.com/content/e3d984a1-dae2-4c3f-b3b9-ffec0345b8f2|date=12 February 2024}}</ref>

;Italy
{{expand section|with=Berlusconi and Forza Italia|date=January 2024}}
Orbán has praised the tenure of former Italian Interior Minister [[Matteo Salvini]], the leader of the [[Lega Nord|League]], declaring him an "ally and our fellow combatant in the fight for the preservation of European Christian heritage and the tackling of migration" after Salvini's departure from the Italian government in August 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 August 2019|title=Orban commiserates with 'fellow combatant' Salvini|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/orban-commiserates-with-fellow-combatant-salvini/}}</ref>

Orbán previously urged closer political ties between the EPP and the League,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2 May 2019|title=Orban says Salvini is the most important politician in Europe|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/eu-elections-2019/news/orban-says-salvini-is-the-most-important-politician-in-europe/}}</ref> and cooperated extensively on immigration with Salvini, describing Salvini as "my hero".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Tondo|first=Lorenzo|date=28 August 2018|title=Matteo Salvini and Viktor Orbán to form anti-migration front|newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/28/matteo-salvini-viktor-orban-anti-migrant-plan-brussels|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>

Orbán has also fostered ties with [[Brothers of Italy]] leader [[Giorgia Meloni]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 February 2018|title=Meloni a Budapest da Orban: "Lui difende i confini"|url=https://www.repubblica.it/speciali/politica/elezioni2018/2018/02/28/foto/meloni_sceglie_il_gruppo_di_visegrad_a_budapest_la_foto_con_orban-189990321/|website=La Repubblica}}</ref> but Meloni later blocked Fidesz joining the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|European Conservatives and Reformists]].<ref>{{cite news|work=Corriere Della Serra|title=Lo sfogo di Meloni: il "metodo è sbagliato, no a un pacchetto di nomine preconfezionato". La tattica per far salire i Conservatori|url=https://roma.corriere.it/notizie/politica/24_giugno_18/meloni-sfogo-pacchetto-nomine-ue-b9f28335-636c-4f11-bcfb-b648f5851xlk.shtml|date=18 June 2024}}</ref>

;North Macedonia

Orbán has also fostered close political ties with right-wing [[VMRO-DPMNE|Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity]] (VMRO-DPMNE) politician and former [[Prime Minister of North Macedonia|PM]] [[Nikola Gruevski]]. While awaiting a ruling on an appeal to a corruption conviction in early 2019, Gruevski fled to Hungary to evade a looming jail sentence. The whereabouts of Gruevski were revealed only 4 days after he failed to report to serve his prison sentence. Macedonian officials have suggested that Gruevski (for whom an international arrest warrant had been issued) was in contact with Hungarian officials in the days preceding his flight, and Macedonian authorities have launched an investigation into whether Gruevski was transported across the border in a Hungarian diplomatic vehicle. The Hungarian government denied accusations of impropriety.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=29 December 2018|title=Hungary Sheltered a Fugitive Prime Minister. Did It Help Him Escape?|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/29/world/europe/macedonia-hungary-orban-prime-minister.html|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Hungarian businesspeople close to Orbán that had previously invested into Slovenian right-wing media also entered into ownership of Macedonian right-wing media companies, propping up outlets friendly to Gruevski and his party.<ref name=":12" /> In May 2023, Orbán pledged that Fidesz would assist VMRO-DPMNE in "various policy areas" ahead of the [[2024 North Macedonian parliamentary election|2024 Macedonian parliamentary election]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/pm-orban-holds-talks-with-north-macedonia-leader-and-offers-fidesz-help | title=PM Orbán holds talks with North Macedonia leader and offers Fidesz help | date=19 May 2023 }}</ref>

;Poland

Prior to the [[2019 European Parliament election]], Fidesz announced it would discuss an alliance with Poland's [[Law and Justice]] (PiS) party if it leaves the EPP.<ref name="Hungary's Fidesz could consider alliance with Polish ruling party">{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-european-election-hungary-fidesz-could-consider-alliance-with-polish-ruling-party/|title=Orbán: Hungary's Fidesz could consider alliance with Polish ruling party|last=Bayer|first=Lili|date=8 March 2019|work=Politico|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref> The two nations' conservative governments have shared a close friendship and alliance for multiple years and the Polish government has pledged political support for Hungary within the EU.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/hungary-orban--fidesz-could-quit-epp-amid-anti-juncker-row|title=Hungary's Orbán says Fidesz could quit EPP amid anti-Juncker row|agency=Reuters|date=8 March 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=16 March 2019|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/03/12/587949473/how-poland-and-hungary-are-forming-a-powerful-tag-team-against-brussels|title=How Poland And Hungary Are Forming A Powerful Tag Team Against Brussels|newspaper=NPR.org|publisher=NPR|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-12/eu-lawmakers-poised-to-censure-hungary-as-allies-desert-orban|title=EU Votes on Hungary Censure Proposal as Allies Desert Orban|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=12 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-and-hungarys-defiant-friendship-kaczynski-orban-pis-migration/|title=Poland and Hungary's defiant friendship|last=Chapman|first=Annabelle|date=6 January 2016|work=Politico|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref>

Orbán and PiS leader [[Jarosław Kaczyński]] have vowed to wage a "cultural counter-revolution" within the EU together,<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Financial Times]]|date=7 September 2016|title=Orban and Kaczynski vow 'cultural counter-revolution' to reform EU|url=https://www.ft.com/content/e825f7f4-74a3-11e6-bf48-b372cdb1043a |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/e825f7f4-74a3-11e6-bf48-b372cdb1043a |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> with the Polish government seeing Hungary under Fidesz as a model for Poland.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Financial Times]]|title=Poland's new government finds a model in Orban's Hungary|date=6 January 2016|url=https://www.ft.com/content/0a3c7d44-b48e-11e5-8358-9a82b43f6b2f |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/0a3c7d44-b48e-11e5-8358-9a82b43f6b2f |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref>

The relationship between Fidesz and PiS deteriorated following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], after the two parties took different stances on the conflict.<ref>{{cite news |date=18 August 2022 |title=The high cost of Orban's pro-Russia policy |work=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-cost-of-orbans-pro-russian-policy-offers-nothing-to-win-but-much-to-lose/a-62849547 |access-date=2023-08-02}}</ref> The relationship was later repaired after PiS lost power in Poland, with [[Mateusz Morawiecki]] inviting Fidesz to join the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|European Conservatives and Reformists]] (ECR) group in the European Parliament in February 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/pisorgpl_EN/status/1755257065147089265|title=x.com|website=X (formerly Twitter)}}</ref>

Although PiS initially negotiated with Fidesz's Patriots for Europe group in June 2024, it later chose to remain in the ECR after disagreements over the ECR leadership were resolved.<ref>{{cite web |last=Genovese|first=Vincenzo|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/polands-law-justice-says-no-160800058.html|title=Poland's Law and Justice says no to Orbán's Patriots and stays with Meloni's group in EU Parliament|website=Yahoo News|date=3 July 2024}}</ref> The Fidesz government also granted asylum to former PiS Deputy Minister of Justice [[Marcin Romanowski]] in December 2024.<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC|title=Hungary sparks row with Poland by granting asylum to ex-minister|date=20 December 2024|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9dp61weeggo}}</ref>

Fidesz also developed ties with PiS's former junior coalition partner, [[Zbigniew Ziobro]]'s [[Sovereign Poland]] party, particularly during the time period when relations with PiS were tense.<ref>{{cite news|work=VSquare|title=HOW ORBÁN ANGERED HIS CLOSEST POLISH ALLIES|date=15 May 2023|url=https://vsquare.org/orban-kaczynski-novak-morawiecki-poland-hungary-russia-war-ukraine/}}</ref>

;Serbia

Orbán has a warm relationship with Serbian President [[Aleksandar Vučić]] and his [[Serbian Progressive Party]] (SNS), with the Hungarian Foreign Minister [[Péter Szijjártó]] campaigning for Vučić before the [[2017 Serbian presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news|date=28 March 2018|title=In Subotica, Serbia, PM Orbán and Serbian President Vučić Praise Bilateral Ties|work=Hungary Today|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/inauguration-subotica-synagogue-viktor-orban-serbian-pm-aleksander-vucic-praise-bilateral-ties-56989/|access-date=27 June 2019|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202172716/https://hungarytoday.hu/inauguration-subotica-synagogue-viktor-orban-serbian-pm-aleksander-vucic-praise-bilateral-ties-56989/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Companies close to the Orbán government have won public contracts with the Serbian government.<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 June 2019|title=Illumination of Serbia, Hungarian Style|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/06/26/illumination-of-serbia-hungarian-style/|work=Balkan Insight}}</ref> The Serbian government has also been accused of taking a similar approach to the Hungarian government towards the media.<ref>{{cite news|date=5 June 2019|title=Viktor Orban's Authoritarian Media Control Is Spreading to Hungary's Neighbor, Report Warns|work=[[Newsweek]]|url=https://www.newsweek.com/viktor-orbans-authoritarian-media-control-spreading-hungarys-neighbors-report-warns}}</ref>

In May 2023, Szijjártó once again addressed an SNS rally in support of President Vučić, ahead of the [[2023 Serbian parliamentary election]].<ref>{{cite news|work=Budapest Times|url=https://www.budapesttimes.hu/world/szijjarto-at-belgrade-rally-hungary-serbia-historic-friends/|date=26 May 2023|title=Szijjarto at Belgrade rally: Hungary, Serbia historic friends}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/tens-thousands-gather-serbia-vucics-show-power-2023-05-26/|date=27 May 2023|title=Tens of thousands gather in Serbia in Vucic's show of power}}</ref> Fidesz has also participated in conferences hosted by one of the SNS's junior coalition partners, the [[Serbian People's Party (2014)|Serbian People's Party]] (SNP),<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The European Conservative]]|title=Conservative Conference in Belgrade: CPAC's Little Brother|date=11 November 2023|url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/conservative-conference-in-belgrade-cpacs-little-brother/}}</ref> and included the SNP in a working lunch of Fidesz-allied right-wing parties hosted by Orbán.<ref>{{cite news|work=Miniszterelnok|url=https://miniszterelnok.hu/en/prime-minister-viktor-orban-received-european-attendees-of-cpac-at-a-working-lunch/|date=5 May 2023|title=PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBÁN RECEIVED EUROPEAN ATTENDEES OF CPAC AT A WORKING LUNCH}}</ref>

In April 2025, Orbán sent a video message to a pro-government rally in Belgrade in support of Vučić, claiming that "foreign powers want to tell Serbs how to live".<ref>{{cite news|work=France24|title=Serbian president holds nationalist rally to counter student demos|date=12 April 2025|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250412-serbia-s-vucic-holds-rally-for-love-of-serbia}}</ref>

;Slovenia

Orbán has allied closely with Slovenian PM [[Janez Janša]] and the right-wing [[Slovenian Democratic Party]] (SDS) he heads, going so far as to campaign for SDS during the [[2018 Slovenian parliamentary election]]. Businesspeople close to Orbán also provided funds to SDS-affiliated media companies that then also used some of the funds to purchase campaign ads on behalf of SDS to circumvent Slovenian campaign finance laws.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/03/world/europe/slovenia-election.html|title=Slovenia Elections Tilt Another European Country to the Right|last=Surk|first=Barbara|date=3 June 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/world/europe/viktor-orban-media-slovenia.html|title=Safe in Hungary, Viktor Orban Pushes His Message Across Europe|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=4 June 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mladina.si/185643/orb-n-ze-neposredno-financira-sds/|title=Orbán že neposredno financira SDS|website=Mladina.si|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zurnal24.si/slovenija/madzarski-denar-za-financiranje-kampanje-sds-310541|title=Madžarski denar za financiranje kampanje SDS?|website=zurnal24.si|language=hr|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref>

After the election, and while SDS was struggling to secure political support to form a coalition government, Janša again met with Orbán on a private visit to Budapest; during the meeting, Orbán also conducted a conference call with former US president [[Donald Trump]] with Janša joining in.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnevnik.si/1042825976|title=Janša na obisku pri Orbanu v Budimpešti, opravili tudi konferenčni klic s Trumpom|website=Dnevnik|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref> SDS's unconditional backing of Fidesz within the EPP was reportedly pivotal in preventing Fidesz's expulsion from EPP, resulting in a more lenient suspension.<ref name=":40">{{Cite web|title=Hungary's attempt to control Slovenian media|url=https://www.mladina.si/190431/hungary-s-attempt-to-control-slovenian-media/|access-date=5 April 2019|website=Mladina.si}}</ref> In a letter to EPP leader, Janša warned of an "inevitable" split in the EPP if the vote to expel Fidesz were to take place.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/exclusive-slovenian-center-right-cancel-orban-vote-or-epp-is-inevitably-split/|title=EXCLUSIVE-Slovenian centre-right: Cancel Orbán vote or EPP is 'inevitably' split|last=Trkanjec|first=Zeljko|date=20 March 2019|website=euractiv.com|access-date=7 April 2019}}</ref>

Despite its close links, in 2024 when Orbán formed the [[Patriots for Europe]], a new EU political group. The SDS, which has four MEPs, ultimately remained part of the [[European People's Party Group|EPP Group]], while noting that not all SDS MEPs agreed with this decision.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Dlhopolec | first1=Peter | last2=Eisenchteter | first2=Jules | last3=Ciobanu | first3=Claudia | last4=Watson | first4=Nicholas | title=Democracy Digest: Hungary Centre Stage as EU Presidency Begins and PM Visits Kyiv | website=Balkan Insight | date=2024-07-05 | url=https://balkaninsight.com/2024/07/05/democracy-digest-hungary-centre-stage-as-eu-presidency-begins-and-pm-visits-kyiv/ | access-date=2024-08-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Portal24|date=7 September 2024|title=SDS ostaja del EPP, mnenja znotraj stranke so različna|url=https://portal24.si/sds-ostaja-del-epp-mnenja-znotraj-stranke-so-razlicna/}}</ref>
;Slovakia
{{expand section|with=Relations before 2020s|date=January 2024}}

Fidesz provided campaign advisers to [[Robert Fico]]'s [[Direction – Social Democracy|Smer]] party ahead of the [[2023 Slovak parliamentary election]].<ref>{{cite web|title=FICO-ORBAN MEETING IN BUDAPEST: COURTESY CALL OR 'BROMANCE'?|work=Balkan Insight|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2024/01/15/fico-orban-meeting-in-budapest-courtesy-call-or-bromance/|date=15 January 2024}}</ref> Prior to the election, Hungarian Foreign Minister [[Péter Szijjártó]] held a joint press conference with Fico.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hungarytoday.hu/former-slovak-pm-instrumental-to-security-of-the-region-says-foreign-minister/ | title=Former Slovak PM Instrumental to Security of the Region, Says Foreign Minister | date=7 December 2022 }}</ref> However, Smer declined to join Fidesz's Patriots for Europe group in 2024, citing an ideological divide with the right-wing parties involved.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Silenská|first=Natália|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/ficos-smer-will-not-join-new-patriots-for-europe-group-cites-ideological-divide/|title=Fico's Smer will not join new Patriots for Europe group, cites ideological divide|website=Euractiv|date=12 July 2024}}</ref> In November 2024, Orbán gave a video address to a Smer party conference.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hnonline.sk/slovensko/96179824-ako-vyzeral-snem-smeru-hosti-privazali-autobusy-ficovi-blahozelal-orban-a-blaha-si-utahoval-zo-17-novembra | title=Ako vyzeral snem Smeru? Hostí privážali autobusy, Ficovi blahoželal Orbán a Blaha si uťahoval zo 17. Novembra | date=17 November 2024 }}</ref>

In 2020, Hungarian officials from the Fidesz government suggested it was in their interest that the [[Slovak National Party]] win seats during the [[2020 Slovak parliamentary election]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23298266/ahead-of-2020-elections-pellegrini-asked-hungarian-pm-to-contact-him-with-moscow.html | title=Ahead of 2020 elections, Pellegrini asked Hungarian PM to put him in contact with Moscow }}</ref> Szijjárto also praised the Slovak National Party following a 2022 meeting with its leader, [[Andrej Danko]], stating that "parties standing on national foundations always understand each other well" and emphasising their shared "Christian-conservative values".<ref>{{cite web|work=Parameter|title=Fura emberekkel pacsizott Szijjártó Szlovákiában, és az ezeknél is abszurdabb találkája zajlott kedden|date=6 December 2022|url=https://parameter.sk/dul-politikai-szerelem-fico-es-orban-minisztere-kozott-smer-elnoke-kierdemli-magyar-emberek}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Daily News Hungary|title=Hungarian minister met with the leader of the Hungarian-hater, far-right SNS in Slovakia|date=7 December 2022|url=https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian-minister-met-with-the-leader-of-the-hungarian-hater-far-right-sns-in-slovakia/}}</ref>

Danko has close relations with Fidesz politicians,<ref>{{cite news|date=20 August 2024|url=https://dennikn.sk/4153858/protimadarske-nalady-sa-z-prostredia-sns-uplne-nevytratili-ale-strana-by-uz-s-madarmi-radsej-spolupracovala/|work=Dennik N|title=Protimaďarské nálady sa z prostredia SNS úplne nevytratili, ale strana by už s Maďarmi radšej spolupracovala}}</ref> and has advocated for an alliance between the Slovak National Party, Smer, [[Voice – Social Democracy|Hlas]], [[Slovak PATRIOT]] and even Hungarian minority parties in order to form what he described as a "Slovak Fidesz".<ref>{{cite news|date=14 February 2023|url=https://standard.sk/319656/andrej-danko-potrebujeme-slovensky-fidesz-chceme-rokovat-so-smerom-a-hlasom/|work=Standard.sk|title=Andrej Danko by chcel vytvárať slovenský Fidesz. S Ficom, Pellegrinim aj komunistami}}</ref>

;Other

Orbán has also developed ties with Dutch [[Party for Freedom]] (PVV) leader [[Geert Wilders]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://zoom.hu/hir/2018/02/19/valojaban-orban-viktor-hivta-meg-geert-wilderst-ebedelni-januarban/ |title=Valójában Orbán Viktor hívta meg Geert Wilderst ebédelni januárban – Zoom.hu |access-date=2 February 2020 |archive-date=2 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202134345/https://zoom.hu/hir/2018/02/19/valojaban-orban-viktor-hivta-meg-geert-wilderst-ebedelni-januarban/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Vox (political party)|Vox]] leader [[Santiago Abascal]],<ref>{{cite news|work=Hungary Today|title=Orbán Holds Talks with Head of Spain's Right-Wing VOX Party|date=27 May 2021|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/orban-vox-abascal-fidesz/|archive-date=4 September 2021|access-date=4 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904111812/https://hungarytoday.hu/orban-vox-abascal-fidesz/|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Conservative People's Party of Estonia]] leader [[Mart Helme]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.err.ee/967871/mart-helme-lauds-cooperation-with-hungarian-prime-minister|title=Mart Helme lauds cooperation with Hungarian prime minister|first=BNS |last=ERR|date=5 August 2019|website=ERR}}</ref> the  [[Chega (political party)|Chega]] leader [[André Ventura]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/andre-ventura-rising-star-of-european-national-conservatism/ | title=André Ventura, Rising Star of European National Conservatism | date=9 February 2023 }}</ref> and Lithuanian [[National Alliance (Lithuania)|National Alliance]]  leader [[Vytautas Radžvilas]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lithuanian far-right party receives 'thank you' letter from Hungary's Orbán |url=https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1451459/lithuanian-far-right-party-receives-thank-you-letter-from-hungary-s-orban |website=LRT |language=Lithuanian |date=15 July 2021}}</ref>

As of 2024, the [[Finns Party]] rejects cooperation with Fidesz, strongly supporting the exclusion of Fidesz from the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|European Conservatives and Reformists]] (ECR) group in the European Parliament.<ref>{{cite news|work=Arbetarbladet|url=https://demokraatti.fi/tynkkynen-jublar-over-att-orbans-fidesz-halls-utanfor-ecr-gruppen|title=Tynkkynen jublar över att Orbáns Fidesz hålls utanför ECR-gruppen|date=21 June 2024}}</ref> The [[Sweden Democrats]] initially ruled out cooperation with Fidesz altogether,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-democrats-threaten-to-quit-right-wing-eu-group-erc-if-orban-joins/ | title=Sweden Democrats threaten to quit right-wing EU group if Orbán joins | date=9 February 2024 }}</ref> but later insisted that Fidesz sign a declaration in support of Ukrainian territorial integrity prior to allowing formal cooperation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dn.se/varlden/sd-haller-dorren-pa-glant-for-fidesz-men-vill-inte-ha-gemensam-hogergrupp-i-eu-parlamentet/ | title=SD håller dörren på glänt för Fidesz – men vill inte ha gemensam högergrupp i EU-parlamentet | date=21 April 2024 }}</ref>

Fidesz refuses cooperation with the [[Alliance for the Union of Romanians]] (AUR), describing it as "anti-Hungarian" and ceasing its attempts to join the ECR after AUR was admitted.<ref>{{cite news|work=eunews|url=https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/06/20/orban-ecr-romania-aur-eu-parliament/|title=Orbán closes to ECR after Romania's AUR ultra-nationalists join group in EU Parliament|date=20 June 2024}}</ref> Nevertheless, after a victory by AUR leader [[George Simion]] in the first round of the [[2025 Romanian presidential election]], Orbán favourably quoted Simion and expressed support for Romania in its "fights for Christianity and sovereignty", noting that while he would not personally support a candidate in the election, he would oppose attempts for "isolation or political revenge" against the next Romanian President.<ref>{{cite news|work=About Hungary|title=PM Orbán: The people of both Hungary and Romania are citizens of the EU with full rights|date=12 May 2025|url=https://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/pm-orban-the-people-of-both-hungary-and-romania-are-citizens-of-the-eu-with-full-rights}}</ref>

;Hungarian national minority parties

Some political parties of Hungarian minorities are said to be allies of the Fidesz like the Slovak [[Hungarian Alliance (Slovak political party)|Hungarian Alliance]] (MKP),<ref name="KAS" /> the Serbian [[Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians]] (VMSZ),<ref name="VMSZ" /> the Ukrainian [[Party of Hungarians of Ukraine (KMKSZ)|KMKSZ – Hungarian Party in Ukraine]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kmksz.com.ua/2018/03/11/miert-a-fidesz-es-a-kdnp/|title=Miért a Fidesz és a KDNP|date=11 March 2018|website=KMKSZ - Kárpátaljai Magyar Kulturális Szövetség}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iribeaconproject.org/our-work-analysis-and-insights/2021-09-10/hungarian-minority-political-landscape-and-hungarian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910161432/https://www.iribeaconproject.org/our-work-analysis-and-insights/2021-09-10/hungarian-minority-political-landscape-and-hungarian|url-status=usurped|archive-date=10 September 2021|title=Hungarian Minority Political Landscape and Hungarian Minority Media in Transcarpathia|date=10 September 2021|access-date=28 January 2024|work=[[International Republican Institute]]|author=Dmytro Borysov}}</ref> and [[Hungarian Democratic Party in Ukraine]] (UMDP),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.umdsz.com.ua/cikkek/ukrajnai-magyarsag/az-ukrajnai-magyar-demokrata-szovetseg-az-alabbi-levelben-gratulalt-a-valasztasi-gyozelemhez-a-fidesz-magyar-polgari-szovetsegnek|title=Az Ukrajnai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség az alábbi levélben gratulált a választási győzelemhez a FIDESZ Magyar Polgári Szövetségnek|website=Ukrajnai Magyar Demokrata Szövetség}}</ref> [[Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia]] (HMDK),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://azonnali.hu/cikk/20190804_eloszor-szavazatokat-most-ingatlanokat-vasarol-a-fideszes-magyar-szervezet-horvatorszagban|title=Először szavazatokat, most ingatlanokat vásárolnak a fideszes magyar szervezetnek Horvátországban|date=4 August 2019|access-date=28 January 2024|author=Techet Péter|website=azonnali.hu|archive-date=1 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901232500/https://azonnali.hu/cikk/20190804_eloszor-szavazatokat-most-ingatlanokat-vasarol-a-fideszes-magyar-szervezet-horvatorszagban|url-status=dead}}</ref> the Slovenian [[Hungarian National Self-Government Association of Prekmurje]] (MMNÖK),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://index.hu/kulfold/2019/04/24/szloveniai_magyarok_orban_nemzetpolitika_hataron_tuli_tamogatasok_klienturaepites_lendva/|title=Állandó téma az orbánizmus a szomszédban|first=Kolozsi|last=Ádám|date=24 April 2019|website=index.hu}}</ref> the Romanian [[Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania]] (RMDSZ),<ref>[https://www.budapester.hu/2020/01/12/das-finale-beginnt]{{dead link|date=July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ungarnheute.hu/news/weber-zu-orban-evp-aendert-ihren-kurs-nicht-57421/|title=Weber zu Orbán: EVP ändert ihren Kurs nicht}}</ref><ref name="KAS">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kas.de/de/laenderberichte/detail/-/content/ergebnisse-der-europawahlen-in-ungarn|title=Ergebnisse der Europawahlen in Ungarn|date=27 May 2019|website=www.kas.de}}</ref> the [[Hungarian Civic Party (Romania)|Hungarian Civic Party]] (MPP)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.polgaripart.ro/hu/hirek/kozlemenyek/75-egyuttmukodesi-megallapodas-szuletett-a-szolnoki-fidesz-es-az-mpp-maros-megyei-szervezete-kozott.html|title=Magyar Polgári Párt - Együttműködési megállapodás született a szolnoki FIDESZ és az MPP Maros megyei szervezete között|website=www.polgaripart.ro|access-date=12 May 2020|archive-date=15 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815135100/http://polgaripart.ro/hu/hirek/kozlemenyek/75-egyuttmukodesi-megallapodas-szuletett-a-szolnoki-fidesz-es-az-mpp-maros-megyei-szervezete-kozott.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[Hungarian People's Party of Transylvania]] (EMNP).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pesterlloyd.net/html/1248szeklerautonomie.html|title=Rumäniens Katalanen? Ungarische Separatisten wollen territoriale Autonomie von Rumänien|website=www.pesterlloyd.net |date=11 June 2026 }}</ref> The Fidesz, the RMDSZ,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hungarytoday.hu/orban-in-transylvania-calls-for-support-for-rmdsz/|title=Orbán in Transylvania Calls for Support for RMDSZ|work=Hungary Today|date=9 May 2019|access-date=11 May 2020|archive-date=14 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014094834/https://hungarytoday.hu/orban-in-transylvania-calls-for-support-for-rmdsz/|url-status=dead}}</ref> MKP,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ungarnheute.hu/news/ep-wahl-orban-ungarn-slowakei-mkp-17647/|title=EP-Wahl: Orbán ermutigt in der Slowakei, MKP zu unterstützen}}</ref> VMSZ<ref name="VMSZ">{{Cite web|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/04/08/fideszs-serbian-sister-party-to-campaign-for-hungarys-orban/|title=Fidesz's Serbian Sister-Party to Campaign for Hungary's Orban|date=8 April 2019}}</ref> the HMDK<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2638804512796567&id=617474474929591|title=HMDK- Horvátországi Magyarok Demokratikus Közössége - DZMH|website=www.facebook.com}}</ref> and the [[Democratic Party of Vojvodina Hungarians]] (VMDP)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pannonrtv.com/rovatok/politika/vmdp-fidesz-kdnp-minel-nagyobb-gyozelme-cel|title=VMDP: A Fidesz-KDNP minél nagyobb győzelme a cél|website=pannonrtv.com}}</ref> support each other in the [[2019 European Parliament election]]. The MKP, VMSZ and RMDSZ are members or associates of the EPP.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.epp.eu/parties-and-partners|title=Parties & Partner|access-date=28 January 2024|work=[[European People's Party]]}}</ref>

'''<big>Non-European countries</big>'''

'''Israel'''

Orbán and his government have also fostered close ties with the Israeli [[Likud]] government under [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], with the two heads of government forging a cordial relationship, having known one another for decades. Netanyahu advised Orbán on economic reforms conducted by the Hungarian government in the early 2000s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hungarian PM: We share the same security concerns as Israel|newspaper=[[Israel Hayom]]|url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=44027|access-date=30 September 2017}}</ref> Netanyahu later extended public political support to Orbán at a time when Orbán was confronting criticism for praising [[Miklós Horthy]], Hungary's former leader, whose government passed anti-Jewish legislation and collaborated with Nazi Germany, and for allegedly employing anti-Semitic tropes in his criticism of [[George Soros]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zion|first=Ilan Ben|date=19 July 2018|title=Netanyahu greets Hungary's Orban as 'true friend of Israel'|url=https://apnews.com/938bb193c0894691bf42a6457d1fae4c|access-date=14 March 2019|website=AP NEWS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=19 July 2018|title=Israel's Netanyahu criticized for wooing Hungary's far-right PM|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/netanyahu-orb-n-israel-welcome-hungary-prime-minister-antisemitism-a8454866.html|access-date=14 March 2019|website=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Anti-Semitism doesn't bother Benjamin Netanyahu if it comes from his political allies|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/07/13/anti-semitism-doesnt-bother-benjamin-netanyahu-if-it-comes-from-his-political-allies/|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The Israeli foreign ministry issued a statement condemning Soros in a show of solidarity with the Orbán government.<ref>{{Cite news|date=11 July 2017|title=Israel backs Hungary, says financier Soros is a threat|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-hungary-soros-idUSKBN19V1J4|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Santora|first=Marc|date=7 April 2018|title=Orban Campaigns on Fear, With Hungary's Democracy at Stake|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/world/europe/hungary-viktor-orban-election.html|work=The New York Times}}</ref> A Likud lawmaker also introduced legislation modeled on Fidesz's "Stop Soros law" in the Israeli [[Knesset]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=11 July 2017|title=With Hungary Cracking Down on Soros, Israeli Lawmaker Pushes His Own 'Soros Law'|work=Haaretz|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/amid-hungary-s-anti-soros-moves-israeli-lawmaker-pushes-his-own-soros-law-1.5492942|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref>

'''United States of America'''

Orbán and his government have gained favor with US president [[Donald Trump]] and his [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] administration (in stark contrast to the policy of isolation practiced by the preceding [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama Administration]]).<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|title=EU's Populist Icon Orban Wins Trump's Attention in U.S. Reversal|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/new-economy-forum|website=Bloomberg|date=22 May 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=15 August 2018|title=Hungary's Leader Was Shunned by Obama, but Has a Friend in Trump|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/world/europe/hungary-us-orban-trump.html|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Orbán was the first European head of government to endorse Trump's presidential bid during the [[2016 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Trump loves a strongman, so of course he fawns over Hungary's Viktor Orban|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-loves-a-strongman-so-of-course-he-fawns-over-hungarys-viktor-orban/2018/05/25/a10bff28-5f64-11e8-a4a4-c070ef53f315_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=25 November 2016|title=Hungary's Viktor Orban finds ally with 'black sheep' Donald Trump|publisher=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/hungarys-viktor-orban-finds-ally-with-black-sheep-donald-trump/a-36520316|access-date=20 March 2019}}</ref>

Trump has praised Hungary's immigration policies in a discussion with Orbán.<ref name=":11" /> The more amiable attitude of the Trump Administration toward the Hungarian government prompted criticism and a protest by 22 [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] lawmakers that called for a more disciplinary policy towards the country's government over what they perceived as a problematic track record.<ref>{{Cite news|date=10 October 2018|title=US lawmakers raise concerns about Trump administration's Hungary policy|work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/us-lawmakers-raise-concerns-about-president-donald-trump-administrations-hungary-policy-viktor-orban/|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref>

[[Steve Bannon]], former head of ''[[Breitbart News]]'' and a former close associate of President Trump who had an integral role in Trump's electoral campaign and administration, has also praised Orbán and announced plans to work with Fidesz in orchestrating the party's electoral campaign for the 2019 European parliament election.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Horowitz|first=Jason|date=9 March 2018|title=Steve Bannon Is Done Wrecking the American Establishment. Now He Wants to Destroy Europe's.|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/09/world/europe/horowitz-europe-populism.html|access-date=14 March 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=17 November 2018|title=Ex-Trump strategist Bannon says to work with Hungary PM Orban: media|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-orban-bannon-idUSKCN1NM07X|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=17 November 2018|title=Steve Bannon plans to advise Hungary's far right PM Viktor Orban|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/steve-bannon-viktor-orban-hungary-budapest-european-parliament-elections-a8638591.html|access-date=14 March 2019|website=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Dallison|first=Paul|date=16 September 2018|title=Steve Bannon praises Orbán and Salvini|work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/steve-bannon-praises-orban-and-salvini/|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary" />

'''Other'''

The Fidesz government had a strong relationship with former Brazilian President [[Jair Bolsonaro]] of the [[Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006)|Liberal Party]], including sheltering him at the Hungarian Embassy in Brazil after he faced criminal charges.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/brazil-probes-jair-bolsonaros-stay-at-hungarian-embassy/articleshow/108807542.cms | title=Brazil probes Jair Bolsonaro's stay at Hungarian embassy | newspaper=The Times of India | date=27 March 2024 }}</ref> Fidesz also has ties with the founder of the Chilean [[Republican Party (Chile, 2019)|Republican Party]], [[José Antonio Kast]], [[María Fernanda Cabal]] of the Colombian [[Democratic Center (Colombia)|Democratic Center]] party, and the Argentinian [[La Libertad Avanza]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://interferencia.cl/articulos/el-guion-de-kast-y-sus-redes-ultraderechistas-en-hungria-ataques-boric-y-construccion-de | title=El guion de Kast y sus redes ultraderechistas en Hungría: Ataques a Boric y construcción de un muro para posicionarse como candidato presidencial | date=3 May 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lasillavacia.com/en-vivo/cabal-en-europa-con-aliados-de-derecha-se-reune-con-autocrata-hungaro/ | title=Cabal, en Europa con aliados de derecha, se reúne con autócrata húngaro | date=25 April 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://diputadosbsas.com.ar/un-diputado-bonaerense-libertario-diserto-foro-en-hungria/ | title=Un diputado libertario disertó en un foro en Hungría | date=26 April 2024 }}</ref>

Orbán's Political Director, [[Balázs Orbán (politician)|Balázs Orbán]], suggested Fidesz has "many things in common" with the Indian [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) following meetings with BJP politicians, including sovereignty, opposing progressivism, and support for peace in the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]].<ref>{{cite news|work=ANI|title=India playing important role in resolving Russia-Ukraine conflict, says Hungarian MP Orban|url=https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/india-playing-important-role-in-resolving-russia-ukraine-conflict-says-hungarian-mp-orban20240829205117/|date=29 August 2024}}</ref>

== Criticism ==
{{Main|Criticism of Fidesz}}
Fidesz has been accused of exhibiting anti-democratic and authoritarian tendencies while in government. The Fidesz-led government has been accused of severely restricting media freedom, undermining the independence of the courts, subjugating and politicising independent and non-governmental institutions, spying on political opponents, engaging in electoral engineering, and assailing critical [[Non-governmental organization|NGOs]]. The Fidesz-led government has been accused of engaging in [[cronyism]] and [[Crime in Hungary#Corruption|corruption]]. Fidesz has been accused of [[antisemitism]], and the Fidesz-led government has been accused of passing legislation that violates the rights of [[queer]] persons. Due to its controversial actions, Fidesz and its government have come in conflict with the EU on multiple occasions.

==Election results==

=== National Assembly ===
[[File:Consecutive Fidesz SMCs.png|thumb|right|250px|Fidesz strongholds: single-member constituencies electing a Fidesz MP in 1998, 2002 and 2006. Pale orange districts elected candidates of partner FKGP.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan=2| Election
! rowspan=2| Leader
! colspan=2| SMCs
! colspan=2| MMCs
! rowspan=2| Seats
! rowspan=2| +/–
! rowspan=2| Status
|-
! Votes
! %
! Votes
! %
|-
! [[1990 Hungarian parliamentary election|1990]]
| ''Collective leadership''
| 235,611
| 4.75 (#6)
| 439,448
| 8.95 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|22|386|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| New
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[1994 Hungarian parliamentary election|1994]]
| rowspan="5" | [[Viktor Orbán]]
| 416,143
| 7.70 (#5)
| 379,295
| 7.02 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|20|386|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[1998 Hungarian parliamentary election|1998]]
| 1,161,520
| 25.99 (#2)
| 1,263,563
| 28.18 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|148|386|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{increase}} 128
| {{yes2|Coalition}}<br/>{{small|(Fidesz-[[Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party|FKgP]]-[[Hungarian Democratic Forum|MDF]])}}
|-
! [[2002 Hungarian parliamentary election|2002]]{{efn|Run in coalition with [[Hungarian Democratic Forum|MDF]].}}
| 2,217,755
| 39.43 (#2)
| 2,306,763
| 41.07 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|164|386|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{increase}} 16
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2006 Hungarian parliamentary election|2006]]{{efn|name="Fidesz-KDNP"|Run within [[Fidesz–KDNP]] coalition.}}
| 2,269,241
| 41.99 (#1)
| 2,272,979
| 43.21 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|141|386|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{decrease}} 23
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2010 Hungarian parliamentary election|2010]]{{efn|name="Fidesz-KDNP"}}
| 2,732,965
| 53.43 (#1)
| 2,706,292
| 52.73 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|227|386|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{increase}} 86
| {{yes|Supermajority}}<br/>{{small|(Fidesz-[[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|KDNP]])}}
|-
! rowspan=2| Election
! rowspan=2| Leader
! colspan=2| Constituency
! colspan=2| Party list
! rowspan=2| Seats
! rowspan=2| +/–
! rowspan=2| Status
|-
! Votes
! %
! Votes
! %
|-
! [[2014 Hungarian parliamentary election|2014]]{{efn|name="Fidesz-KDNP"}}
| rowspan="3" | [[Viktor Orbán]]
| 2,165,342
| 44.11 (#1)
| 2,264,780
| 44.87 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|117|199|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{decrease}} 110
| {{yes|Supermajority}}<br/>{{small|(Fidesz-[[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|KDNP]])}}
|-
! [[2018 Hungarian parliamentary election|2018]]{{efn|name="Fidesz-KDNP"}}
| 2,636,201
| 47.89 (#1)
| 2,824,551
| 49.27 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|117|199|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| {{yes|Supermajority}}<br/>{{small|(Fidesz-[[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|KDNP]])}}
|-
! [[2022 Hungarian parliamentary election|2022]]{{efn|name="Fidesz-KDNP"}}
| 2,823,419
| 52.52 (#1)
| 3,060,706
| 54.13 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|117|199|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| {{yes|Supermajority}}<br/>{{small|(Fidesz-[[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|KDNP]])}}
|}
{{Notelist}}

===European Parliament===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Election
! List leader
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
! EP Group
|-
! [[2004 European Parliament election in Hungary|2004]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Pál Schmitt]]
| 1,457,750
| 47.40 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|12|24|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| New
| [[European People's Party - European Democrats|EPP-ED]]
|-
! [[2009 European Parliament election in Hungary|2009]]{{efn|name="kdnp"|Run in a joint list with [[Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)|KDNP]].}}
| 1,632,309
| 56.36 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|13|22|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
| rowspan=3 | [[European People's Party Group|EPP]]<br/>{{small|(until 2021)}}
|-
! [[2014 European Parliament election in Hungary|2014]]{{efn|name="kdnp"}}
| [[Ildikó Pelczné Gáll]]
| 1,193,991
| 51.48 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|11|21|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|- style="height:1.5em"
! rowspan=2 | [[2019 European Parliament election in Hungary|2019]]{{efn|name="kdnp"}}
| rowspan=2 | [[László Trócsányi]]
| rowspan=2 | 1,824,220
| rowspan=2 | 52.56 (#1)
| rowspan=2 | {{Composition bar|12|21|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| rowspan=2 | {{increase}} 1
|- style="height:2em"
| ''[[Non-Inscrits|NI]]''<br/>{{small|(from 2021)}}
|-
! [[2024 European Parliament election in Hungary|2024]]{{efn|name="kdnp"}}
| [[Tamás Deutsch (politician)|Tamás Deutsch]]
| 2,048,211
| 44.82 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|10|21|hex={{party color|Fidesz}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
| [[Patriots for Europe|PfE]]
|}
{{notelist}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.fidesz.hu/ Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union] Official website
* [http://www.epp.eu/countryPg.asp?cid=12 Fidesz page on the website of the European People's Party]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060310004229/http://www.fideszfrakcio.hu/index.php?CikkID=10909&FIDESZSESSID=d777505ada9e30c9dc3a785cfa89d5a8 Speech delivered by Mr Viktor Orban at the 17th Congress of Fidesz upon his election as president of Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union, 17 May 2003] (from Google's cache)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051129071015/http://www.fideszfrakcio.hu/index.php?CikkID=5350&FIDESZSESSID=3a4bab2f8242ecbeba363bf9fb8b1152 The History of Fidesz] (from Google's cache)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930185401/http://euronews.net/create_html.php?page=detail_info&article=383058&lng=1 Hungary's PM calls confidence vote]

{{Patriots.eu}}
{{Hungarian political parties}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fidesz| ]]
[[Category:1988 establishments in Hungary]]
[[Category:Anti-communist parties]]
[[Category:Anti-immigration politics in Europe]]
[[Category:Christian democratic parties in Hungary]]
[[Category:Conservative parties in Hungary]]
[[Category:Eurosceptic parties in Hungary]]
[[Category:International Democracy Union member parties]]
[[Category:Member parties of the European People's Party]]
[[Category:National conservative parties]]
[[Category:Organisations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Hungary]]
[[Category:Opposition to same-sex marriage in Europe]]
[[Category:Anti-gender movement]]
[[Category:Parties represented in the European Parliament]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1988]]
[[Category:Political parties in Hungary]]
[[Category:Right-wing populism in Europe]]
[[Category:Right-wing populism in Hungary]]
[[Category:Right-wing populist parties]]
[[Category:Socially conservative parties]]