On 11 June 2026, the GLC Alumni Network convened the first meeting of its new Political Task Force and offered an online event dedicated to the shifting political landscape of Central and Eastern Europe. Moderated by Vladislav Petkov, the gathering brought together Task Force members from across the region to report first-hand on developments in their countries in the fields of democracy, civil society and human rights. Conceived as a way for our alumni community to better understand and track political processes in the region, the Task Force launches at an interesting moment: a spring of dramatic elections and street mobilisations gave members plenty to discuss.

Below is a short summary of the speakers’ input. If you want to hear the full discussion, reach out to [email protected] for access to the recording.

Hungary: The End of the Orbán Era

Tessza Udvarhelyi, vice mayor of Budapest's 8th district, opened with the April 2026 elections, in which Péter Magyar's Tisza Party won a supermajority and ended sixteen years of Orbán's rule. She described an election night of "liberation and grief": liberation at the disbelieving realisation that the Orbán era was finally over, and grief for the sixteen years many in her generation felt had been stolen from them, and for the friends and fellow activists who did not live to see the change. She attributed the victory to a credible alternative candidate, a disciplined grassroots campaign that refused coalitions and reopened people's political imagination, alongside structural factors such as generational change and a struggling economy. Looking ahead, she expects constitutional reform, better-functioning institutions and less corruption, while cautioning that this is a centre-right government which is expected to stay on a conservative course on topics like LGBTQ rights and migration. Among the clearest gains: women now hold roughly a third of parliamentary seats (up from around 10% in the previous government), while some Roma candidates received prominent positions.

Bulgaria: Progressive in name only?

Bulgarian Political Task Force member Ognyan Isaev reflected on the April elections in Bulgaria (which took place just one week after the Hungarian ones) that gave the newly formed Progressive Bulgaria a full majority in parliament, with former president Rumen Radev as the movement's central figure. Ognyan’s assessment was notably more sober than the Hungarian one: despite its name, the party's platform reads as more right-leaning than progressive, with no foreseen change to the flat-tax system, aspirations for cuts in the social sphere, and human rights and social justice largely absent from the agenda. He noted a continuing trend of pressure on non-governmental organisations and a shift away from targeted policies for vulnerable communities toward vague "mainstream" ones. On foreign policy, he judged that fears of Bulgaria becoming "the new Orbán" or pivoting toward the Kremlin appear unlikely to materialise, with the country expected to remain largely aligned with the European Union.

Albania: The Flamingo Revolution

Sidita Zaja, a human rights specialist at the UN office in Albania, brought news of the ongoing "Flamingo Revolution." What began as an environmental protest over a stretch of protected coastal land, grew into a broader movement once existing landowners were bypassed and a protester was violently dragged away on 31 May. By the time of the meeting it was the eleventh day of resistance. Strikingly leaderless and youth-driven, the movement unites feminists, environmentalists, NGOs and LGBTQ communities through celebrative protests, including singing, dancing and memes, and has drawn international support. The Prime Minister continues to defend the investment, which has led to protesters calling for his resignation.

Romania: Hope, watched from next door

Adela Alexandru, a gender equality expert and community organiser at Centrul Filia, offered a reflection on how these regional shifts are received in Romania. She noted that developments abroad are followed mostly within engaged circles of civil society, journalists and academics, while the wider debate stays focused on domestic politics. Still, she described Hungary's change as an important source of hope, given that Orbán had long been held up as a model by Romanian politicians, and framed his fall as proof that authoritarian populism is not permanent. Her central message was one of cautious resolve: with anti-rights narratives persisting and public trust in institutions eroding across Europe, the shared task ahead is to keep rebuilding democratic legitimacy and to show that democracy can improve people's daily lives.

Slovakia: The elections ahead

While Political Task Force member Martin Klus was unable to join, a Slovak perspective was nonetheless shared during the discussion, with attention turning to the elections ahead. The upcoming regional and local elections are seen as an important indicator for next year's parliamentary vote: two of the eight regional governments, along with the progressive mayor of the capital, continue to stand firmly against the ruling coalition, and holding those positions is viewed as decisive. If they are maintained, there is room for real hope; if they are lost, the outlook could darken quickly. The wish expressed was that the momentum from Hungary and Albania might yet inspire similar democratic energy in Slovakia.

Do you agree with these assesments and predictions? What is your take on that? Feel free to send us your thoughts and we can keep the conversations going.

The Political Task Forceis an operational group made up of one esteemed alum from each of our target Central and Eastern European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia). Its members monitor political developments in their respective countries in the areas of democracy, civil society, and human rights, contributing a short monthly summary that allows the network to stay politically informed. Task Force members also take part in virtual events to present and discuss national and international political trends, and provide ad-hoc input into the programs, initiatives, and documents of the GLC Alumni Network. This is an honorary and voluntary engagement and we remain very greatful for the task force members for finding time to contribute. And they are:

June brought the Virtual Fellowship program 2026 to its final training sessions and into full mentoring mode.

On June 9th, US mentor Mo George (US), currently a lead campaign strategist at the Clean Slate Initiative, led the fellows through the essentials of campaign planning: from building a campaign plan and choosing the right tactics, to navigating the always-interesting tension between cooperation and confrontation.

On June 25th, the group reconvened for a praxis session facilitated by Zita Szederkenyi (Hungary, Spring 2023), where participants talked about their experience with mentoring (before and durign the program) and about making the best of this opportunity to work individually with experts and organisers from the US. Thanks to Zita’s efforts, we also have a lovely visual summary of parts of the conversation:

Meanwhile, the mentoring phase is in full swing. Thirteen fellows are now paired with a US mentor for one-on-one coaching, collaborative work and where possible - organizational immersion. This gives our fellows a unique possibility to see how community organizing actually works on the ground, while also allowing them to discuss their individual contexts, challenges and campaigns, tailoring their learning experience to their needs. A mentor orientation meeting took place on June 10th, kicking things off and mentors and fellows are currently scheduling meetings and planning their collabortive work.

Curious to know who are our fellows and their mentors? We have three reccommendations for you:

Elizabeth "Liza" Sammons - a longtime GLC mentor, accidental fundraiser, and one of the most warm-hearted people in our network - is currently in Slovakia, on a Fulbright fellowship. And she didn't come alone: she's been joined by our very own Edita Bednarova (Slovakia, Fall 2016), who is supporting her in some of her activities, serving as her assistant and interpreter on the ground.

Liza has been sharing her expertise on inclusion and accessibility in cultural institutions, delivering lectures to museum and gallery administratorsm most recently to staff and interns at the Central Slovakia Gallery. The woman who spent years opening doors for Central European fellows in Ohio is now helping Slovak institutions open their doors wider for everyone. We love to see it!

Our Hungarian alumna Tessza Udvarhelyi (Hungary, Spring 2016) has been on a roll lately: her latest stop was Chicago, where she was invited to the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center.

Tessza took part in a roundtable discussion on building democracy, sharing the table with a New York Times journalist, a former national security adviser and speechwriter to President Obama. What makes this extra special: Tessza spoke not just as a Hungarian, but as someone who comes from a country that has been through the authoritarian wringer and is now finding its way back. As she put it, Eastern European experiences on dismantling authoritarian regimes are suddenly very much in demand. See her full recount of the experience here.

Tessza was part of the Obama Foundation Scholars program in 2021-2022. She is not the only benefiting of the president’s programs: our Maros Chmelik (Slovakia, Spring 2013) is in the current cohort of the Leaders Program.

Our US mentor, supporter, and friend Mo George turned 60 this June. Honestly, we thought she was around 40, right?

Mo is one of the most devoted members of our network. She joined us as a mentor back in 2013, when she was working at Community Voices Heard. Since then, her career has taken her from running a community organization, to grantmaking at Open Society, and back to organizing again, now with the Clean Slate initiative, but through every chapter, she always found time for our network and its people. Case in point: she spent part of her birthday week training our current virtual fellows, all while continuing to support our work with a monthly donation.

Mo, we are so grateful for everything you bring to this community, and we wish you all the best! Here's to many more!