Orban’s demise a win for EU, and a big loss for Benjamin Netanyahu

The biggest loser of the Hungarian elections was overshadowed by the danger of the blockade and Trump’s god complex. Israel writes Michael Pascoe.

There were a lot of losers in Hungary on Sunday night. Orban himself, of course, but after lining the pockets of his friends and family with corruption for the past 16 years, the 62-year-old can be expected to do just fine.

Trump also lost his kindred spirit after so boldly supporting it with words, a Vice President, and the promise of American funds. More generally, as Dutton finds here, being seen as Trumpy doesn’t work well abroad.

Putin was a big loser

Being Orban’s man in the EU, blocking support to Ukraine and leaking EU information to Russia. Correction: it is gushing, not leaking.

Xi will miss him too. Hungary is China’s best friend in the EU, a bridgehead for investment and sympathetic until an agreement on Chinese police assistance is signed in 2024. But the proposed Chinese police never seemed to arrive.

Unlike others, Chinese investment will likely remain valuable to the new Hungarian government, and Beijing is nothing if not pragmatic.

Tony Abbott, a long-time admirer of Orban-style Christian nationalism, was upset and showed ignorance about X that Hungary’s economy was in relatively bad shape. Tones probably likes to count himself among Orban’s “conservative intellectuals.”

Viktor Orbán has been a very important Prime Minister; probably the most effective Prime Minister Hungary has ever had. The economy strengthened, the city of Budapest was transformed, Hungary’s family policies and determination to preserve its culture were scrutinized worldwide.

— Tony Abbott (@HonTonyAbbott) April 13, 2026

The biggest loser!

But these losers pale in comparison to the biggest loser: Benjamin Netanyahu.

With Orban’s loss, Netanyahu lost the war.

Oh, Israel is still winning at killing people and will continue to win one-sided wars and achieve victories by bombing and bulldozing towns, hospitals, schools and terrorizing cities; never mind that it kills mainly civilians, women and children, as well as journalists, doctors, medics, aid workers and the occasional UN peacekeeper.

But he is losing the war by isolating himself, losing support and friends, and forcing real sanctions on the world.

Orban was Netanyahu’s protector in Europe.

Just as Hungary blocked European sanctions against Russia and loans to Ukraine, it also blocked sanctions and EU criticism by using its veto right on behalf of Israel.

The EU needs the unanimity of its 26 members to take action. Only one person was needed to stop the action and that was Orban’s Hungary.

With Orban’s departure, the way has been opened for Europe to act as a bloc against Israel’s colonization of the West Bank and the wars in Lebanon and Palestine.

Europe’s changing attitude

There are various official attitudes towards Israel in Europe, from Spain and Ireland at one end to Hungary at the other, but the change has been in one direction. Even Germany, plagued by Holocaust guilt, withdrew unconditional support by reducing arms sales because the majority of Germans viewed the destruction in Gaza as unjust or genocidal.

It is possible that the Israeli lobby will replace Orban in one way or another, but where Europe goes, others will follow.

For example, Australia.

Last year, it took the UK, Portugal and Canada for Australia to recognize the State of Palestine.

If, say, Europe sanctions all West Bank settlers for their illegal occupation as the Palestinian death toll rises, Australia may be tempted to follow its current stance of excluding a handful of people.

The longer Israel continues to kill, the more it loses.

Of course, none of this matters as long as Netanyahu, through Trump, keeps the US under control (“Hey Donald, let’s attack Iran!”) and wields influence over American politics more broadly. Billions of dollars, UN vetoes, bombs, missiles and planes keep coming, and the Israel lobby is still extremely powerful.

Americans’ support is declining

However, Israel is also losing the war in the USA. He still owns the government, but he has lost his people. In his latest newsletter, commentator Mike Mangan highlights the relevant Pew Research poll and calls it an epic failure, as the percentage of Americans who view Israel favorably has fallen from 55% in October 2023 to just 37% now.

The numbers are even worse among Democrats, with 80 percent having a negative or very negative view of Netanyahu.

“Meanwhile, 57 percent of Republicans under 50 and 41 percent of Republicans overall now view Israel unfavorably,” Mangan wrote.

“Israel cannot survive without the support of the United States. But that support is collapsing with every apartment block bombed in Beirut.”

Perhaps more concerning than the loss of support from Democratic voters is the rise of alt-right anti-Semitic MAGA youth. profiled ($) within this week New YorkerA White House staffer tells Antonia Hitchens:

This is where the MAGA civil war began; You are either pro-America First or pro-Israel.

The US’s launch of a war against Iran at Israel’s insistence fanned the anti-Israeli flames within MAGA.

“Prominent conservatives like Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Steve Bannon have been arguing since the beginning of Trump’s second term that MAGA was being replaced by what some are calling MIGA—Make Israel Great Again,” Hitchens writes.

“This group argued that the President was too intimidated by hawkish interventionists such as neoconservative commentator Mark Levin. It later emerged that (Charlie) Kirk had begun to have doubts about U.S.-Israel relations, leading to a proliferation of online conspiracy theories.”

A sidelight of the Iran disaster was Trump shouting that the United States no longer needed Middle Eastern oil. The MAGA brigade might reasonably ask that since America maintains a number of military bases and 40,000 to 50,000 personnel in the Middle East, it would be okay to deploy the odd carrier task force.

Despite the Trump vote, the MAGA divide, and Democrats’ ability to hit them, it’s possible that Republicans will lose the midterm elections and the next administration will not be MAGA.

Given this possibility, it is not a good time for Netanyahu to lose his European protector in Orban and for the outlook of kindred spirits elsewhere to weaken.

Netanyahu is even more dependent on America, an America that has changed and has already proven unconcerned with throwing away treaties, agreements and allies.

Having now lost Orban, then Trump, Netanyahu is losing the war.

Name, blame, shame. Israel and Trump must be stopped

Michael Pascoe is an independent journalist and commentator with five decades of experience in print, television and online journalism here and abroad. His book, Summertime of Our Dreams, was published by Ultimo Press.