Romania found itself at the centre of coordinated foreign interference campaigns on social media, while Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk failed to consolidate his party’s position against conservatives in the presidential race.
And while the Christian Democrats returned to power in Germany, right-wing billionaire Andrej Babiš was re-elected in the Czech Republic.
Now, the EU is entering 2026 with Russia’s war in Ukraine continuing on its eastern flank. With member states divided on how best to support Kyiv and tensions rising between the bloc and the US, the year’s major elections could once again transform Europe’s political and geopolitical standing.
2026 could see the end of the longest continuous spell in power in the EU.
Viktor Orbán first served as Hungary’s prime minister between 1998 and 2002, and has reigned since his re-election in 2010. In the race for his sixth term in office, he faces a serious challenger: Péter Magyar, a former Fidesz insider turned opposition leader.
Orbán’s party, Fidesz, and Magyar’s Tisza party do not differ significantly on societal issues such as LGBTQ+ rights or migration, but Magyar is arguing strongly for improving Hungarians’ purchasing power, currently one of the lowest in Europe, and for better relations with Brussels, which still conditions multi-million cohesion fund payments on respect for the rule of law.
His campaign appears to be striking a chord: the latest polls put Tisza 13 points ahead. But whatever the outcome, the vote will have ramifications far beyond Hungary’s borders.
Orbán sits at the centre of Europe’s national-conservative camp, aligning closely with US President Donald Trump’s worldview and openly challenging mainstream EU positions on migration, democratic standards and in particular the war in Ukraine.
Budapest’s reluctance to sanction Moscow or support Kyiv has deepened divisions within the bloc. A change of leadership could reshuffle the power dynamics within the European Council at a crucial moment for Ukraine’s future.
Four of the EU’s largest powers are bracing for regional and municipal elections that will confirm just how much momentum the far right has, and provide a temperature check on growing distrust of the authorities in Madrid, Berlin, Paris and Rome.
In Spain, the socialist PSOE party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is reeling from its defeat in the 21 December regional election in Extremadura, netting its worst ever result in what was a traditional stronghold.
Meanwhile, in Madrid, Sánchez’s ruling coalition is under pressure after several corruption scandals and is struggling to pass a budget for the third consecutive year.
Upcoming regional elections in Aragon on 8 February, Castilla y León on 15 March, and Andalusia, Spain’s largest region by size and population, latest on 30 June, will all be crucial tests not only for the PSOE but also for the centre-right opposition People’s Party (PP).
The question is whether the PP can secure majorities ahead of the 2027 general election without relying on support from the far-right Vox party.
