Hungary’s opposition cheers Orban’s fall but faces challenging transition

BUDAPEST — For opponents of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Sunday night was one long party that lasted into Monday. After 16 years of rule by Orban and his Fidesz party, jubilation reigned in the streets of Budapest as the reality of his election defeat set in.

“Today, truth triumphed over lie,” Peter Magyar — the center-right candidate who unseated Orban in a repudiation of the ultra-polarized politics that have swept much of the West — told a cheering crowd gathered beside the Danube River on Sunday night, as the illuminated facade of parliament glowed on the opposite bank. “Together we overthrew the Hungarian regime.”