Campaign season in EU’s most important election of 2026 begins
The Hungarian election is off to the races, and nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is facing his most serious challenger in 16 years. Over the weekend, Orbán and his center-right European Parliament member Péter Magyar launched their campaigns, with polls showing Orbán trailing Magyar and his Tisza party. Orbán, who is close with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has used his power to tighten control over media and courts and Hungary’s veto to stall sanctions on Moscow and Ukraine aid. His Fidesz party has been trying to divide Magyar’s base on culture war issues and to paint him as a puppet of Brussels. A Magyar win wouldn’t mark a liberal U-turn, but could smooth the European Union’s support for Kyiv and rebuke right-wing populism currently on the rise in Europe.
Peru impeaches yet another president
After just four months in office, Peru’s President José Jerí will join the long line of predecessors to be removed. The country’s Congress on Tuesday voted to impeach Jerí after videos released online showed him attending undisclosed meetings with a wealthy Chinese businessman under government scrutiny. Jerí, who only took office after his predecessor was impeached, said the leak was politically motivated ahead of the upcoming presidential elections on April 12. Since 2016, Peru has had seven presidents, and only one made it through their whole term. The legislature will pick an interim leader today. Despite having a revolving door of presidents, Peru has one of the most stable economies in South America, maintaining low inflation and far less turbulence than its regional neighbors like Ecuador and Argentina.
