The recent Hungarian parliamentary elections were “free but not fair,” says virtually all analysis inside the liberal media bubble. Stronger opinions suggest that Hungary is a dictatorship or a “hybrid regime,” where elections are only theater. State-sponsored “propaganda of Viktor Orban’s ruling party,” “gerrymandering,” and “election law that favors Fidesz,” the usual charges go.

But if you actually have some basic understanding of Hungarian history and the electoral systems, you won’t be that surprised by Viktor Orban’s landslide. What’s behind the sweeping victory of Europe’s most successful conservative party?