At the heart of Peter Magyar's victory in the Hungarian parliamentary election on April 12 was more than just anger at high-level corruption and economic hardship.

His win was also a repudiation of Viktor Orban's "illiberal democracy," a rejection of his drift away from the European mainstream and a warning not to stray too close to Moscow's orbit.

Two of his closest allies — prime ministers Robert Fico of Slovakia and Andrej Babis of Czechia — moved relatively swiftly to congratulate Magyar. But the congratulations were carefully worded and hardly gushing with praise.

"Facing such a strong opponent as Viktor Orban was never easy, yet he earned the trust of the majority of Hungarians and carries great hopes and expectations," Babis wrote on X.…