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Orbán’s Decline: What It Means for Europe’s Anti-Abortion and Anti-LGTBIQ+ Networks

11 May 2026

Viktor Orbán’s political weakening is reshaping more than Hungary’s domestic landscape — it is testing a transnational network of organisations that have long treated his government as a model for conservative Christian policymaking across Europe.

The recent El País analysis shows how Spanish and European groups advocating against abortion rights and LGTBIQ+ protections have drawn on Hungary’s policies as inspiration. Networks such as Hazte Oír, Abogados Cristianos, NEOS, the ACdP, and Hungarian-linked think tanks like the CDF and MCC have helped circulate these ideas through coordinated events, publications, and cross-border collaboration.
As our researcher Felipe González Santos explains, Orbán’s significance lies in being one of the first leaders to govern while actively implementing this ideological agenda, framing it as a “cultural battle” and presenting it as socially hegemonic — even if it faced substantial opposition within Hungary.

This is where the INTERFACED project becomes relevant. By studying civic participation and the infrastructures that connect citizens, organisations, and institutions, INTERFACED helps explain how political influence today often operates through dense networks rather than single leaders. These “interfaces” of participation — think tanks, advocacy groups, and transnational alliances — shape how ideas circulate and gain traction across borders.
Read the full article here.