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Budapest, Hungary — Viktor Orbán's defeat means Hungary will experience a change in government for the first time since 2010. Although polls show the opposition Tisza party winning a clear victory, many supporters were not even allowed to imagine what a victory would feel like. During Orbán's illiberal Fidesz party's 16-year rule, the electoral arena was so skewed against its rivals that some questioned whether an alternative was even possible.

Therefore, when Orbán conceded defeat to his rival Péter Magyar, it felt to some like a regime change. Writer and poet András Petöcz said this feeling reminded him of being in Budapest during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"I was 30 years old when the communist regime ended. The same feeling — exactly the same," he told CNN on the banks of the Danube River, where Tisza supporters gathered to listen to the results.

Future prime minister Magyar addressed the crowd, saying: "Together, we have changed the Orbán regime. Together, we have liberated Hungary. We have taken our country back."

While many things remain uncertain, from the size of Tisza's majority in parliament to how to begin dismantling the system built by Fidesz, Orbán's defeat has shown that populism is a dead end. His defeat offers lessons for those who wish to imitate him and those who would welcome his departure.

After a long tenure as the champion of national sovereignty — having promised to protect Hungary from the supposed threats of the European Union and liberal ideology — Orbán's election campaign ultimately relied heavily on the help of his powerful international supporters in the US and Russia.

Vice President JD Vance, who was sent to Budapest last week by the Trump administration to help its closest European ally, told Orbán he was willing to help him "as much as I can." President Donald Trump went even further. "GO TO THE POLLS AND VOTE FOR VIKTOR ORBÁN," he wrote. "He is a true friend, a fighter, and a WINNER."