In a move that Fidesz claims is unprecedented since the fall of communism, Hungarian prosecutors raided the party’s servers, grabbing their “entire communications system and databases.” The party, led by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, took to Facebook to blame the “tyranny” of the new government under Prime Minister Péter Magyar. “The Tisza Party’s plan to eliminate Fidesz and with it the resistance to tyranny through political means has failed,” the statement read, with the melodrama of a telenovela villain who’s just lost his mustache. “Therefore, the Tisza Party is now attempting to legally disable Fidesz.”

PM Magyar, in a holding statement on his own Facebook page, played it cool: “We await the information on what case they are investigating and what was seized.” Reuters notes that prosecutors in Bács-Kiskun told news site 24.hu the search is linked to an investigation into alleged “misappropriation and other criminal offences” at the National Culture Fund (NKA). Earlier this year, criminal proceedings were launched against several current and former officials over NKA grant decisions worth more than 17 billion forints ($53.91 million). Those involved deny wrongdoing, claiming the NKA channelled billions to Fidesz-tied artists through a non-transparent process, which sounds less like a grant and more like a loyalty reward program.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen condemned the raid, posting on X: “Violations of the rule of law are multiplying in Hungary with the blessing of those who think they are in the ‘camp of good.’” Because nothing says “rule of law” like defending the party that spent years dismantling it. We’re still waiting for the Prosecution Service of Hungary to weigh in - assuming they’re not too busy seizing databases.