Hungary Turns the Page: Hungarians Sweep Away Orban After 16 Years in Seismic Vote (Bloomberg)

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An upstart opposition party in Hungary ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years in a historic election that will redefine the country’s relationship with the European Union, Russia and the US administration of President Donald Trump.

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Peter Magyar’s Tisza party was headed for a supermajority in parliament that will allow it to deliver on bold promises to dismantle Orban’s self-styled illiberal system. Tisza had 69% of the parliamentary mandates compared with 28% for Orban’s Fidesz, according to the Election Office in Budapest on Sunday, with 90% of the votes counted.

“Together we dismantled the Orban system,” Magyar told ecstatic supporters on a stage, with the Danube River and a lit-up parliament building behind him. “We will liberate Hungary and take back our country.”

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Peter Magyar, the leader of the opposition Tisza party. Photographer: Darko Bandic/AP Photo

Orban conceded the election, telling supporters that the result was “painful” for him. He said he had congratulated Magyar on his victory. The forint extended a months-long rally against the euro to rise to the strongest level in three years. Corruption and self-dealing were major reasons for Orban's defeat, according to Axios. 

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Magyar, a 45-year-old former ruling party insider, galvanized the country over the past two years with his message of change in the face of an increasingly authoritarian regime. As results trickled in, drivers honked their horns in celebration along the Danube River in Budapest.

The result is a blow to Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who sought to keep the European Union’s longest serving prime minister in power. Trump repeatedly endorsed Orban and sent Vice President JD Vance to Budapest to campaign for him just days before the vote.

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The outcome also marks a defeat for the nationalist camp in Europe for whom Orban had been a trailblazer and the driving force behind its Patriots party, now the third-largest inside the European Parliament.

But it came as a big relief for the EU, which had struggled to overcome Orban’s obstructionism over the years. Putin had relied on the Hungarian leader to sow division in the EU, block aid to Ukraine and dilute sanctions against Moscow.

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“Hungary has chosen Europe,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X. “Europe has always chosen Hungary. Together, we are stronger.”

The Price of War

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Charting the Global Economy: War Fuels Inflation, Saps Sentiment (Bloomberg)

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Surging fuel costs stemming from the Iran war are sparking a rapid run-up in inflation and sinking consumer confidence.

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In the US, a record increase in the cost of gasoline sparked the steepest advance in a closely watched measure of consumer prices in nearly four years. Consumers in both the world’s largest economy and Canada have become more pessimistic, with sentiment in the US tumbling to a record low.

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Consumers’ perceptions of their current financial situation matched the worst level since 2009, with consumer sentiment falling in April to the lowest level recorded in the 70-plus-year history of the University of Michigan’s survey.

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Investor confidence in the euro-area economy dropped to the lowest level in a year due to the Iran war, casting doubt on the region’s nascent recovery.

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With the situation for oil producers and refineries in the Middle East remaining murky despite a US-Iran ceasefire, inflation will likely remain elevated for months. Meanwhile, New Zealand and India were among a number of central banks keeping interest rates unchanged this week as inflation fears reverberate worldwide.

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Clouded Outlook: Earnings Season Kicks Off With War, AI Threat Among Key Worries (Bloomberg)

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Earnings season is about to start at a crucial time for stock traders whipsawed by war in the Middle East, concerns around private credit and the disruptive threat of artificial intelligence.

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Both the MSCI World Index and the S&P 500 Index are coming off their worst quarter since 2022, after steep losses in March amid renewed inflation worries with the Iran conflict sparking a surge in oil prices. 

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Investors are eager to hear what corporate leaders have to say about all the risks, which also include lingering questions about US tariffs. Goldman Sachs kicked off the US reporting season this morning. In Europe, luxury bellwether LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE’s results mark the start of the region’s earnings cycle.

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What I'm Reading

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Middle East Latest: Iran Sends Warning on Gulf Ports After US Threat to Block Hormuz (Bloomberg)

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Iran said it would target all ports in and close to the Persian Gulf if its own shipping hubs are threatened, heightening the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz after the US announced plans for a blockade of Tehran-linked vessels.

The comments add to a game of brinkmanship over the Hormuz Strait, a major transit point for energy flows that accounts for about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. They signal Iran is ready to restart attacks on ports in Arab Gulf states — if the US follows through on a pledge to block all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian hubs from 10 a.m. New York time on Monday.

Such a move would also lead to more tension between the US and China, which buys almost all of Iran’s oil.

Direct talks between the US and Iran over the weekend ended without an agreement, with Trump telling reporters on Sunday evening that he didn’t care whether or not Tehran returned to the negotiating table.

He announced the blockade in response to the failure to reach a deal in Pakistan, threatening to resume US military attacks in the event of Iranian resistance. “Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” he said.
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Ezra Klein: What Trump Didn't Know About Iran (New York Times - Podcast)

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Ezra Klein has a particularly good podcast walking through the long, tangled history between the US and Iran, well worth a listen if you’re trying to make sense of the current moment.

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He opens with an observation that, frankly, travels well beyond just this issue: “Trump appears to believe it is not his job to know about the world, it is the world’s job to know about him. He acts, the world reacts. The work of planning, learning, building coalitions, considering consequences, all of that is beneath him, beneath his superpower.”

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Listen to the episode here. 

God Complex? Trump Attacks Pope Leo as Too Liberal and ‘Weak on Crime,’ While Comparing Himself to Christ the Healer (New York Times)
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Pope Leo XIV is one of the world’s most powerful critics of the US war with Iran. In recent days, he has condemned the worship of mortals and money, the pitfalls of arrogance, and the “absurd and inhuman violence” unleashed by fighting that has further destabilized the Middle East.
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His many admonishments over the past week appear to have reached President Trump, who responded to those calls for peace by scorching the first American-born pontiff on social media and then taking personal credit for Leo’s ascension to the papacy.
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“Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise,” Trump wrote in a lengthy social media post on Sunday night. “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”

The president doubled down, before posting an AI-generated image of himself as what looks like Christ the healer. What the 53 million Americans who identify as Catholic — otherwise known as 20 percent of the voting public — make of it remains to be seen, Politico Playbook writes. Leo responded to Trump’s attack, telling reporters: “I have no fear of the Trump administration,” per NYT’s Motoko Rich.

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Hard Line: Cuba’s President Projects Defiance in Standoff With the US (New York Times)

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Transition Push: Venezuela Opposition Backs Machado as Candidate in Next Vote (Bloomberg)

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Clemency Wave: Trump Promises Mass Pardons to Staff Before Leaving Office (Wall Street Journal)

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President Trump has repeatedly promised his top administration officials pardons before he leaves office, according to people who have heard his comments.

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“I’ll pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval,” Trump said in a recent meeting to laughs, according to people with knowledge of the comments. 

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This term, Trump has wielded clemency far differently than any other president, dispensing some 1,600 grants to date. Many have gone to allies and donors, or those who had hired them, coming after a social pull-aside or a round of golf. Some have received bipartisan criticism, including one to a crypto billionaire whose company boosted Trump’s own digital-currency company, and another to a former Honduran president convicted of conspiring with cartels to ship cocaine to the US.

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🎧 Catch today’s Daily Read Podcast for a smarter look at the day’s biggest headlines. We break down the key stories with context, insights, and why they matter, so you can stay informed fast. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

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In Memoriam: Eliot Engel, a 16-Term Bronx Liberal in Congress, Dies at 79 (New York Times)

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Swelter Alert: New York, Washington Set to Swelter Under Record Heat This Week (Bloomberg)

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Washington will likely reach a high of 94F (34C) on the National Mall on Wednesday, while New York’s Central Park is set to reach 87F, the National Weather Service said. The heat will extend across much of the Mid-Atlantic and southeast with at least 165 daily records expected to be threatened or broken this week.

Big Golf News: Rory McIlroy Wins Masters, Becomes 4th to Go Back-to-Back After Amen Corner Rally (New York Times - The Athletic)
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Rory McIlroy has done it again. On Sunday, the Northern Irishman became the fourth player in Masters history to go back-to-back, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.
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McIlroy further cemented his legacy in the tournament’s history not by blowing away the field or by producing a final-round score for the ages. After 36 holes, he had a record six-shot lead. But he sweated out this Masters Sunday, with two birdies in Amen Corner the difference.

While McIlroy faltered at the start, the other contenders did too — and ultimately, it was the 36-year-old career Grand Slam champion who was able to hold on, and for once, let the chaos unfold around him. A defending Masters champion has held the 54-hole lead or co-lead seven previous times, but only two of them went on to win. On Sunday, McIlroy’s final-round 71 to finish at 12 under par made him the third.

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UK Dining Guide: The Best Restaurants to Book in London Right Now (Bloomberg Pursuits - Kate Krader) 

According to Bloomberg Pursuits' Kate Krader, these are the best restaurants to book in London right now, a snapshot of a dining scene that still offers “plenty of reasons to be hopeful” despite a tough year for UK hospitality. 

The list stretches from landmarks to new standouts: Simpsons in the Strand, which debuted in 1828, reopened in March under Jeremy King, “roast beef trolleys and all,” while Veeraswamy, the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant, is fighting eviction from its Regent Street address. 

For new Italian comfort food, there’s Tiella in Shoreditch, the “homey” regional Italian spot where chef Dara Klein looks to southern Italy for ingredients and inspiration, with a menu full of “uber-comfort” dishes like forno bread, beef filet tartare, giant meatballs and chewy trie pasta. 

And Borough Market’s restaurants are pulling in the kind of crowds you see for the viral chocolate strawberry stall, with top places including Akara, the West African dining room from Aji Akokomi and “a favorite on DINE , home to the Bloomberg network’s restaurant community,” where accessible plates include stuffed black-eyed pea fritters, cod collar and roasted aubergine. 

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Best of SNL

"JD Vance announced that the US and Iran have ended negotiations without a deal after talking for 21 hours straight. And guys, I think they’re done for real, based on how his mascara’s running."
-- Michael Che

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On President Trump warning Iran about making any more demands by claiming that "the Iranians don't seem to realize they have no cards":

"They're literally holding a Strait."
-- Colin Jost

On JD Vance being asked about the US' right to enrich uranium, and him responding by giving a strange analogy about his wife's ability to go skydiving:

"What are you talking about? The only thing that makes sense in that entire analogy is we can all understand JD Vance's wife having the urge to jump."
-- Colin Jost

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And from the Cold Open: President Trump (James Austin Johnson) makes important phone calls from the Oval Office. Click the photo below to watch.
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