U.S. conservatives watch nervously as Orban faces tough test

U.S. conservatives have long pointed to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as proof that a Western leader can crack down on immigration, defy global institutions and wage war on “woke” liberalism – and still win elections.
But as Hungary heads toward an April 12 parliamentary election, some of Orban’s most enthusiastic admirers in the U.S., including President Donald Trump, are confronting a once-unthinkable prospect: after 16 years in power, Europe’s champion of “illiberal democracy” could be voted out of office.
Defeat for Orban would reverberate well beyond Hungary, casting doubt on the durability of a political system – marked by hardline nationalism and an erosion of democratic checks – that some on the American right have touted as a blueprint for reshaping Western democracy.
It would also come as momentum appears to be slowing for some of Europe’s far-right parties, with Trump’s unpopularity increasingly seen as a liability among European voters.