Plus ça régime-change, plus c'est la même chose

SteynonLine ^ | April 13, 2026 | Mark Steyn

[Twotone]

Greetings from Ukraine. I was supposed to spend last night in Budapest, but by early afternoon there was a palpable sense on the streets that something big was coming. So I figured I'd rather take my chances with Putin's incoming drones than hordes of Hungarian hotties high on their impending liberation from the Orbán terror. Because of some or other incident on my preferred TransCarpathian frontier post, I was obliged to detour via south-eastern Slovakia. Pleasant, if you're interested, and I encountered a nun in a full-length habit, which I don't think I've seen on a Montreal street in half-a-century. I'd been planning this trip for awhile on the assumption that this war would be coming to an end. But one consequence of yesterday's election is that the principal opposition to the EU's proxy-war-without-end has been vapourised, and Brussels can now fight on till the last Ukrainian male is either dead or servicing Sir Keir Starmer at one of his many North London properties.

Here's how Eva Vlaardingerbroek, late of this parish, sees it:

Looks like the last bastion is gone.

The Hungarians are about to learn the true meaning of "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

And the rest of us in Europe have just lost our only real stronghold against the EU.

Devastating. https://t.co/2jgk2dSBnS — Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) April 12, 2026

The point about the two-thirds super-majority necessary for constitutional change is well-taken.

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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: hungary; marksteyn; putinthewarpig; russiansuicide; viktororban; vladtheimploder

[SaveFerris]

[The Hungarians are about to learn the true meaning of
“you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”]

Boy that’s for certain.

American Democrats open a branch office there?

I’m truly disappointed by this change.

[Paal Gulli]

For those not fluent in "Pig-French," the full French version is, "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

English translation: The more things change, the more things stay the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3GxmrwAeXY

[SaveFerris]

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,”

[posterchild]

Hungary stills feel like Hungary

wasn't sure she could stick the food as

Perhaps it isn't his most sober writing.

[posterchild]

I did notice in Slovak grocery stores that beer (really good beer) is about 0.55euro per litre.

[Leaning Right]

Thanks for posting this. There has been a lot of give-and-take regarding the election on other threads. Some folks say Magyar’s victory will be good for Hungary. Others say it will be a disaster.

I have always been a fan of Mark Steyn. He pulls no punches. And he does it in a humorous way. So I’ll let him be the tiebreaker. Steyn thinks it’s going to be a disaster.

Side note: I’m of Hungarian descent, and have a fair grasp of the language. Magyar means “Hungarian”, in Hungarian. That kinda jolted me when I first saw Péter Magyar’s name.

[SaveFerris]

I guess he meant “with”

Definitely needed more proofreading but he was probably in a hurry

It happens

(Cruella von der Leyen)

Spot-on

[posterchild]

That’s per 0.5 litre. Perhaps I’m the one less than sober.

[miniTAX]

As a Canadian, Steyn is English/French bilingual. His wordplay (”régime change” instead of “change”) is clever, without any bastardization, it’s a strech to call it “pig French”.

[redfreedom]

The term “Hungarian Hotties” caught my eye, so I went to Google images to see if such a thing exists. And yes, there are some very cute and hot Hungarian chicks.

[DUMBGRUNT]