By this time next year, former prime minister Viktor Orbán could hold a senior international position after Tisza’s two-thirds election victory closed off his prospects in Hungarian politics – at least for now. One post would allow him to pursue his childhood passion; another could provide diplomatic immunity in the event of criminal proceedings in Hungary.
Is Viktor Orbán’s political career over?
Former prime minister Viktor Orbán turned 63 this year. If we take the comparison literally, he has two years left before reaching Hungary’s official retirement age. He spent virtually his entire active life as a member of parliament, from 1990 to 2026, including 20 years as prime minister – from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2010 to 2026. During four parliamentary terms, he governed with what was effectively a two-thirds majority.
But Tisza secured a two-thirds majority in the 2026 election. Following the shock defeat, Orbán also resigned his parliamentary mandate – despite the fact that it would have taken him neatly to retirement age – because he did not want to face his challengers in the National Assembly. Péter Magyar’s government has also passed a constitutional amendment preventing him from serving as prime minister again.
The only exception would be a fresh two-thirds victory for Fidesz. At present, however, that appears highly unlikely: support for the former governing parties has fallen below 20 per cent among most reputable polling organisations.
He committed himself for a year
Orbán is currently leader of Fidesz, the largest opposition party, but he has given no indication that he intends to withdraw from public life. Although there is resistance to him within the party and rumours of a possible breakaway civic party, he was nevertheless re-elected as leader with 97 per cent of the vote at July’s leadership congress.
He agreed to serve for one year, saying that he wanted to put the party back in order, rejuvenate it and transform it. That period would also be long enough for him to assemble an international portfolio of his own.
Orbán could launch an international career – and pursue his passion
During the year available to him, Orbán could use his extensive international contacts – and powerful supporters – to begin a new international career, if the information obtained by investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi is accurate.
One possible destination is Fifa. According to Panyi, Orbán held talks with the leadership of football’s world governing body in the United States during the 2026 World Cup about a possible position. The exact role is unknown, but the post of Fifa vice-president may have been discussed.
Orbán was subjected to a barrage of attacks in Hungarian domestic politics because he was not in the country when, in his view, the new government dismantled the foundations of the rule of law – namely by removing the president of the republic elected by Fidesz.
To secure the position, however, he would need allies. One of the European vice-presidencies at Fifa is currently held by Sándor Csányi, president of the Hungarian Football Association and OTP Bank. His mandate expires during the 2027 election cycle.
There are plenty of obstacles
Orbán would nevertheless face several hurdles. If he wanted to join the Fifa Council as Hungary’s candidate, he would first have to secure the presidency or a vice-presidency of the Hungarian Football Association. He would then need to win the backing of UEFA’s member associations.
It was no coincidence that Orbán and Csányi appeared at the same American football event during the World Cup. Orbán watched the semi-final between Spain and France in Dallas with members of his family, while Sándor Csányi was seated close to Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
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The UN could offer an easier route
The other possible route is the United Nations – specifically, according to Panyi, a position as a deputy secretary-general. An analysis by Portfolio.hu noted that Orbán would “merely” need to cultivate a good relationship with the future secretary-general and secure the support of figures such as President Trump and Argentina’s President Javier Milei.
The latter could prove important because one of the leading contenders to become the UN’s next secretary-general is Rafael Grossi, the Argentine head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The greatest attraction of the deputy secretary-general scenario, according to Mr Panyi, would be diplomatic immunity. We have reported that Orbán could find himself in serious trouble if János Hajdu, former head of Hungary’s Counter-Terrorism Centre and Fidesz’s current security chief, refuses to accept responsibility for ordering the raid on the Ukrainian “gold convoy” and the unlawful assault on the money couriers, instead pointing the finger higher up in his testimony.
Questions have also been raised over the castle built on the Hatvanpuszta estate, as well as the enrichment of Orbán’s father, the elder Győző Orbán.
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The claims were firmly denied by Bertalan Havasi, Fidesz’s director of communications, who dismissed the reports as “fake news”. A separate report has likewise described the proposed UN appointment as a possible route to diplomatic immunity for Orbán.
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