BUDAPEST ¨C Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, uniquely endorsed by both U.S. President Donald Trump and the Kremlin, could lose his 16-year iron grip on power on Sunday, opinion polls indicate, in an election many Hungarians believe will decide their country¡¯s fate in Europe.
Orban, the European Union¡¯s longest-serving prime minister, has led Hungary since 2010, entrenching his power by curbing independent media and democratic rights and building an ¡°illiberal democracy¡± that has earned him fans on Europe¡¯s far right and in Trump¡¯s Make ?America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
However, three years of economic stagnation and soaring living costs, along with the enrichment of oligarchs close to the government, have ?angered voters.
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