Slop Check is the Hungarian Conservative’s newest regular series, where we will be reviewing the worst ‘content’ mainstream media has to offer. Think of it as being like fact checking, but nowhere near as dweeby.

Slop of the Week: How Orbán Plans to Survive 2026 — EU Observer

Another day, another instance of the Brussels media attacking Hungary.

Sadly, this time it isn’t one of the important outlets taking pot shots. Instead, it is the EU Observer. While a tiny fraction of the size of Politico and Euractiv, the rarely-read paper has opted to repeat the same tired tropes about Hungary—that the country is some tired, authoritarian hellhole where the public is just crying out for some liberal democracy.

The Op-Ed, penned by Professor Anton Shekhovtsov, suggests that Fidesz—now apparently terrified of alleged-wifebeater Peter Magyar and his Tisza party—is examining ways of undermining the 2026 general election to stay in power. Shekhovtsov suggests that they may adopt the Romanian method of rigging—namely that of just ignoring the results of a democratic vote by claiming some nebulous kind of ‘foreign interference’ was involved. 

Of course, he also believes the Russians are involved in this scheme for some reason. The Russians are behind everything, after all. I am told those who think otherwise are obviously conspiracy theorists.

What are Shekhovtsov’s sources for this alleged plot to overthrow Hungarian democracy? His comment piece, published in Brussels’s self-described ‘sixth most influential EU affairs media’, does not say. All he can point to is the fact that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is claiming that there is already foreign political interference in Hungary’s coming election.

Well, that and the fact that the Russians seemingly believe that Ursula von der Leyen and her cadre of Eurocrats want Orbán gone.

All this is enough to suggest conspiracy, apparently.

Now, I’m no professor—and perhaps it requires a university chair to see through Russia’s dastardly schemes—but there is one slight problem with this theory:

Brussels is interfering in the coming 2026 election. 

Having spent the last two years in the EU capital myself, I can tell you for a fact that every single pro-EU publication in that city is constantly lambasting Hungary for something or other—whether they have good cause to or not. And let’s not forget the constant stunts pulled in the European Parliament, as well as the highly questionable ‘rule-of-law’ procedures the Commission loves. You know, the ones they abandon when a country they target decides to elect a leader they like?

Now have a look at what ambassadors from EU countries are doing on the ground in Budapest: they are criticizing the government and backing the opposition, whether explicitly or implicitly. 

Another problem with the professor’s theory, however, is that polling indicates Fidesz is set to win the next election fair and square. Even the so-called ‘independent’ pollsters Shekhovtsov points to—polls that are likely so off-course that Wikipedia has split them off from the mainstream polling—have support for Magyar and friends declining.

If trends continue, another Fidesz victory seems a rather safe bet. Why would they bother rigging an election they are going to win anyway? Why suggest, without evidence, that they are even thinking about it?

Did I mention that the professor presents zero concrete evidence pointing to the existence of a Fidesz plot to rig the election?

Credit where it’s due: at least it looks like we are admitting that overturning the Romanian election was a total farce. Though the EU Observer’s writer stable as a whole seems to be very much of the opinion that the Romanian elite were right to blatantly ignore a democratic ballot. So, we can’t give too much credit.

In fact, the professor certainly loses points for deciding to publish in the EU Observer in all places. For those of you who don’t know it—and who could blame you—it’s a magazine that has to frequently beg for donations in its newsletters to stay afloat. It’s not exactly widely read despite its leftist credentials.

But it is principled at least: After getting next to no traction on Elon Musk’s X, it decided to defect to Bluesky so it can get next to no traction there instead.

So, good for them?

If you are going to attack Hungary, at least do so in a publication that is actually relevant.

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