The end of Orbán?

The end of Orbán?

Author: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer March 26, 2026 Duration: 46:00

It has been 16 years since Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party assumed power in Hungary – and it might have begun to feel like things could never change. But with a parliamentary election just around the corner, there’s now a glimmer – a hint! a twinkle! – of hope that the EU's most illiberal government could finally be on its way out.

This week, we’re devoting the entire episode to the April 12 elections: what’s certain, what remains to be seen, and most importantly, what’s at stake. And to make sense of it all, we’re joined by two Budapest-based friends of the podcast: the novelist Krisztián Marton, and Viktória Serdült, reporter at HVG, one of the last surviving bastions of independent journalism in Hungary.

  1. “At last, a figure has emerged who could wrench power from Viktor Orbán in Hungary” – Viktória Serdült for The Guardian, 18 December 2024
  2. Paul the Octopus on Wikipedia
  3. Krisztián Marton on Instagram
  4. Viktória Serdült on X

This week’s Hungary-themed Inspiration Station recommendations are the song “Tizenhat” by Elefánt, the documentary The Trap, and the FT series The Orbán System.

MISS OUR NORMAL PROGRAMMING? This week’s edition of our newsletter, Good Week Bad Week, has you covered. Subscribe over here to learn what’s been going on beyond Hungary’s borders (the good, the bad, the silly).

This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. You can also donate via our website if you prefer. And finally: we'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.

Produced by Morgan Childs, Wojciech Oleksiak and Katz Laszlo

Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak

Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com


Every week, Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer sit down to untangle the stories shaping the continent, moving beyond the headlines to find the human threads within European news, politics, and culture. Their conversations feel like joining two well-informed friends who are genuinely curious, offering clarity on complex political shifts in Brussels one moment and diving into a compelling film from Berlin or a novel from Lisbon the next. This isn't about dry analysis; it's about understanding the forces that define daily life from Dublin to Sofia. In this The Europeans podcast, you'll hear interviews with policymakers, artists, and everyday people, all contributing to a richer, more nuanced picture of a region in constant motion. The tone is engaging and accessible, designed for anyone who feels that Europe's narrative is too often reduced to stereotypes or institutional jargon. By weaving together current affairs with deeper cultural trends, each episode builds a more complete and surprisingly relatable portrait. If you've ever wanted to feel more connected to the ideas and debates circulating across the Channel and beyond, this is a consistent and thoughtful guide.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
Podcast Episodes
Are we all trapped in a transatlantic Truman Show? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:23
Can we talk about Trump’s culture war, Putin’s war on inclusivity, and just about everyone’s unwillingness to pay teachers fair wages—and giggle throughout? You better believe it. Nina Lamparski is back in the hosting ch…
Should we be worried about Russian drones in NATO’s skies? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:04
There’s no denying it’s been a pretty dark week, but we’ve got a couple of bright spots for you. What could be a better job than dreaming up ways that Europe could be improved? That’s what this week’s guest, Johanna Fabr…
Terrible week for ABBA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:11
The music industry is reeling due to what’s being called the 'largest intellectual property theft in history' — we’ll dig into the fight between Big Tech and the people who make the music. Meanwhile, Sweden’s new cultura…
Why is the EU not acting on Gaza? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:36
This week, we’re dedicating the entire episode to Gaza. We have a lot of questions about the EU’s role in what’s happening there: Why is the EU not suspending trade with, or at the very least banning weapon sales to, Isr…
Three Rivers and a Sausage Fight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:51
It’s our second week of “cucumber season” programming, and fair warning: we’re really leaning into the late-summer goofiness. This week, we go hard on German gastronomy, with a deep dive into Europe’s declining alcohol c…
Save the games! Preserve the bread! Guard your rabbits! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:48
Welcome back! We’re easing back into the swing of things after our summer holidays with a bit of “cucumber season” fare. It’s our regularly scheduled programming, just a little bit…sillier. This week, we take a peek into…
Hungary's Pride ban goes up in smoke (and glitter) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:50
This year’s Budapest Pride was banned in March under the Orbán government’s contentious “child protection” law. Demonstrators were threatened with hefty fines for participating, and the government said it would employ fa…
Toxic chemicals, abortion rights, and a Nazi-era train law [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:53
Depending on where you are in Europe, your right to a safe abortion — and reproductive care in general — can vary dramatically. This week, we speak to pioneering abortion activist Rebecca Gomperts about why she's hopeful…
Could Europe switch off big tech's algorithms? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:35
The EU supposedly has some of the world's toughest laws regulating big tech. So why does it still feel like Europeans are being sucked into increasingly polarised online communities, and manipulated during our elections?…
Is real change coming to Serbia? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:08
Serbia’s government has come under intense pressure since a deadly disaster at Novi Sad’s main railway station last November. Student-led protests have spiralled into a nation-wide resistance movement and for months, Ser…