See that guy above? His name is Akos, and I’ve been seeing him around ever since I moved to Hungary. Big man with a big heart, loves Orban. There he was last night at the Fidesz Party’s election gathering, bathed in orange light (orange is the party color), waiting for the first election results to come in.

The thing is, Magyar is not a figure of the political Left, which remains unpopular in Hungary. What he basically offered voters is “Orban, but without the corruption.” On the key issues that infuriate Brussels about Orban’s Hungary — his hardline on migrants and asylum seekers, and his adamant desire to keep Hungary out of the Ukraine war — there’s no difference between Orban and Magyar, except that Magyar might even be tougher than Orban on migration. When he takes power, Magyar is going to have to either disappoint his allies in the EU establishment, or disappoint millions of his voters. Personally, I expect him to be the cat’s paw of Brussels. For Hungary’s sake, I hope I’m wrong.

But — and I can’t say this strongly enough — Hungarians do not support the EU’s policies toward Ukraine, and they all still back Orban’s hardline on keeping borders strong. Had Peter Magyar openly taken the EU line on either issue, he would probably not be the incoming prime minister. In fact, Magyar got to the right of Orban on migration, promising to cut off work visas for foreigners, that had been approved by Fidesz.

The EU loves to promote itself as “defending democracy,” but it’s very important for Americans to understand that “democracy” is when voters choose candidates with the EU stamp of approval. I can tell you for certain that the Orban government was prepared, in the event that they won, for “Euromaidan” style mass protests — a color revolution organized by the EU.