Will the New Hungarian Prime Minister Use His Victory to Restore Democracy?: A Video Roundup
Our mid-April collection of clips
Dear Readers:
This week’s video roundup covers Hungary’s remarkable repudiation of Viktor Orbán—and why liberals shouldn’t mistake a historic election victory for the hard institutional work that still lies ahead. On the economic front, we look at how the Republican turn toward protectionism has created both an opening and an urgency for Democrats to stop apologizing for free trade and make an affirmative case for it. And finally, we bring you a conversation between Andy Craig and Bill Kristol on why impeachment—long dismissed as a dead end after Trump 1.0—is now back on the table.
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Hungary’s Rejection of Orbán Is Just the Beginning
Hungary ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power in a decisive repudiation of his model of illiberal democracy—and liberals have been in celebration mode since.
But, as video contributor Landry Ayres reminds us in the following video, “defeating an authoritarian at the ballot box is the beginning of the real work, not the end of it.”
Poland is the most instructive recent case. Donald Tusk returned to power with a mandate to restore the rule of law, and two and a half years later the courts are still packed, reform legislation is still being vetoed, and his coalition has at times resorted to the very executive overreach it was elected to reverse. Hungary must take care that its explosion of reformist energy does not get quieted in this way.
What makes Hungary different is that Magyar won a supermajority—something Tusk never had. So the authority exists. Whether the political will is there to use it is the only question left.
You can also watch this video on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube.
Democrats Must Answer the Right’s Protectionist Turn With a Full-Throated Defense of Free Trade
For decades, progressives in America have treated free trade as something to apologize for rather than defend. That defensiveness has become a kind of trap for them now. Democrats are pushing back against Trump’s tariffs, but mostly on tactical grounds—without also making the affirmative case that the moment actually calls for.
As Tibita Kaneene argues in these pages, for any movement centered on liberal principles, reclaiming a commitment to free trade is critical—and the necessary foundation of any forward-looking Democratic governing project. The UnPopulist’s video editor, Jacob Repkin, presents Kaneene’s argument in this clip.
Why Impeachment Is Back on the Table
Fifteen months into Trump’s second term, the question of removal is no longer a niche concern or a fringe pursuit.
In this next clip, which is taken from a longer conversation between The Bulwark‘s William Kristol and The UnPopulist‘s Andy Craig, Kristol argues that impeachment—even without a conviction-ready Senate—is the constitutionally appropriate response to a president who is not merely malign but increasingly unhinged.
Fundamentally, impeachment is back in play because, without the internal guardrails that constrained him in his first term, Trump is as reckless as he wants to be. And Kristol points to more paths to making removal mainstream—Cabinet resignations, a potential Greenland invasion, the slow fracturing of Republican loyalty—than conventional wisdom would suggest.
© The UnPopulist, 2026
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This talk of “restoring democracy” in Hungary skips over an obvious point: democracy worked! The government was elected by voters. People supported a platform built on “no war, no migration, no gender,” and the acceptance of the argument that gender ideology threatens the traditional framework of coexistence grounded in loyalty, faith, and family. Those themes stood on their own; they didn’t depend on anyone’s personality.
There is no democracy to restore. The task now is for the new government to deliver on the promises that won the election and to reach a workable fiscal understanding with the EU. If that happens, many voters in Hungary will view it as a success.
And if the democratic political leaders in this country could speak with clarity on that same message, they might find great sucess success as well.
The fact that there can be a real transfer of power is in itself a good sign. This is not like Putin's switch back and forth with Medvedev until he could get the Russian Constitution working for his own advantage. So having an integral election is a sign that there will be more free and fair elections in the future.
On the other hand it is a good question if we are just getting "Orban Lite" with Magyar. How much he and his parliamentary majority can, or want, to undo the authoritarian infrastructure is unknown. If they turn back toward the EU and NATO and away from Putin and Russia that would be good for Hungary and good for the West. But how they approach free speech and Orban's regressive social agenda will be interesting to see.
I anticipate a right of center attempt to return to normalcy and a focus on improving economic conditions to be the first order with other things made possible down the road as long as free and fair elections are maintained.
I have avoided visiting Hungary for years. I hope to visit one day soon depending on how things progress.