Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán has become the kind of godfather of competitive authoritarianism, an autocratic visionary for the 21st century that right-wing parties around the world are seeking to emulate. Trump’s second term draws directly from his model, with the various thought leaders of that movement making their admiration plain. Orbán’s is a system in which elections continue, giving the country the appearance of democracy, but it is just that: an appearance.

Or so the thinking has gone. There is some irony in the fact that, according polls, Orbán is on track to lose reelection on Sunday to a former member of his Fidesz Party, Péter Magyar, who has won voters over by denouncing the regime’s corruption and incompetence. While it is no longer a question whether the country’s democratic mechanisms are fair, Sunday will test whether they are rigged enough to withstand the overwhelming backlash Orbán is now facing. JD Vance and Vladimir Putin are, in various ways, scrambling to save their ideological ally.

If Magyar’s party, Tisza, does win on Sunday, it could become the first step in a long process of de-Orbánization, which we have a great piece up on this afternoon. Political scientist Gabriela Greilinger walks through what will have to happen to unwind the prime minister’s grip on power. He and legions of his loyalists have burrowed deep into the mechanism of Hungarian government, and extracting them will not be quick or easy.

I want to thank everyone who came out to see us last night in Austin, Texas for our live recording of The Josh Marshall Podcast featuring Kate Riga. We had such a good time. I also wanted to thank our cosponsor, The Texas Observer, and the Observer’s news and politics editor, Justin Miller. It was so great to see all of you. As I told you last night, other than a few layovers when I was younger, I had never been to Texas before. As you guys say, it’s a whole other country. I’ve been to much of the South and Midwest. I grew up on the West Coast. But for whatever reason, I’d never been to Texas. I know Austin is a particular part of a very big state. But I really enjoyed my limited time there. And I really enjoyed getting a chance to meet so many of you.

Do you want us to come to your town or burg? Let us know. We’re slowly making our way across the country and particularly branching out from our usual haunts in DC and New York. We’ve now done live episodes of the pod in New York, DC, Chicago and Austin. And we plan to do multiple each year going forward around the country. So we’re always looking for good TPM towns to visit.