Thousands of people rallied in Budapest on Saturday as a political newcomer led a push to mobilise voters against Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, ahead of European elections on Sunday.
“We defeated apathy,” declared Péter Magyar, a former government insider who switched sides and launched an opposition movement, as he stood in front of a vast crowd which filled the capital’s Heroes’ Square.
“We give hope to each other,” he said, underscoring that “we are building a country where there is no right, no left – only Hungarian”.
Since coming back to power 14 years ago, Orbán has consolidated power at home. He has cultivated relationships with Russia and China, as well as far-right parties across the globe. And he has described Brussels and Washington as his adversaries, despite Hungary’s continued membership of both the EU and Nato.
At the same time, some of the prime minister’s closest friends and family members are now among the country’s wealthiest people, amid allegations of widespread cronyism.
Magyar, who used to be married to Orbán’s former justice minister, became a sensation in Hungary earlier this year when he broke ranks and began criticising the government, stressing concerns about alleged corruption.
The Hungarian government has repeatedly rejected accusations of corruption.
But gathered on a hot afternoon, many in the crowd expressed admiration for both Magyar’s message and personal journey.
“He took responsibility for his sins and stood up,” said Zoltán, an activist supporting Magyar’s Tisza party.
Lena, a 17-year-old Hungarian who lives in Austria but wants to move home, said she will vote for Magyar once she is old enough. “I believe we need to take back our homeland,” she said.
While Hungarians will be voting in local elections and on who to send to represent them in the European parliament, many see these elections as a de facto referendum on both Orbán and the opposition parties that have struggled to challenge his position over the past years.
Orbán, who is the EU’s most Kremlin-friendly leader, has focused his election campaign on what he has described as a “peace” platform.
Ahead of the elections, the ruling Fidesz party has run an intense disinformation campaign claiming – without providing proof – that there is a global conspiracy to force Hungary into a direct war with Russia and that Hungary’s opposition is being directed by the west to undermine the national interest.
“Now we are again receiving demands to take part in a new war,” Orbán told supporters at a recent rally.
Addressing the crowd, Magyar pushed back against this narrative and accused the government of intentionally dividing Hungarian society.
“The Tisza party is the party of peace – the real party of peace” he said.
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Magyar is an unusual figure in the Hungarian political scene. His language sometimes echoes conservative and nationalist rhetoric, but he also criticises Orbán’s government in a way that appeals to liberal voters.
In an interview with the Guardian earlier in the campaign, Magyar said his aim was to be in the centre. “I have a vision about Hungary,” he said.
The political newcomer’s informal style, social media savvy, and willingness to criticise both right-wing and left-wing politicians has resonated with many voters.
However, critics have raised concerns that he has weakened other opposition forces and questioned how different some of his policies would be from the current ruling party.
“What is completely new is that he can speak essentially to the whole left-liberal side and also a significant segment of Fidesz voters,” said Róbert László, an election expert at the Budapest-based Political Capital Institute.
Magyar “comes from the inside, he speaks in a way that appeals to everybody, he has work ethic. And the fourth factor is that he is not open to compromise,” he added.
But he stressed that despite an initial decline, Fidesz has performed strongly in opinion polls over the past weeks.
The ruling party enjoys the support of 50% of decided voters, according to a study published last week by pollster Medián. Magyar’s Tisza party, meanwhile, stood at 27%.
“Magyar’s appearance means a serious threat for everyone: obviously now much more for the opposition parties than for Fidesz,” László said, adding: “We don’t expect that Orbán will be packing his bags on 10 June.”