With five months still to go, next year’s Hungarian parliamentary elections have already stirred up a heated political campaign between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and challenger, Péter Magyar. Orbán, who first won office in 1998 and has been elected four more times since 2010 along with his far-right Fidesz party, has pretty much dominated Hungarian politics for two decades. Now the nationalist leader faces his biggest challenge ever. With his critics accusing him of corruption and authoritarianism, Europe’s longest-serving leader is losing support amidst chronic inflation and a weakening economy plus a challenger determined to undo the Orbán system and place Hungary on a more prosperous, democratic path.
Magyar, a 44-year-old former Fidesz insider, pulled no punches in telling The Associated Press that Orbán’s was a “despicable, corrupt government”, one that would “do everything to preserve their stolen loot and their power.” It was beyond reform and incapable of staying in touch with the people. “This power has become inhumane”, he said.
Most current polls show Magyar and his Tisza party holding a solid lead over Orbán’s Fidesz — an almost unprecedented opposition feat in Hungary over the past two decades. How Magyar managed to build a party with this level of support in less than two years has intrigued observers of the political scene. András Bíró-Nagy, director of the Budapest-based Policy Solutions think tank, attributes it to Magyar’s near-constant “grassroots campaigning” in rural Hungary, claiming his focus on pocket book issues like the cost of living and poor public services have resonated in small towns which traditionally responded to Orbán’s nationalist message. Magyar is undertaking a meet-the-people, cross-country “Road to Victory” tour designed to reach out to the many Hungarians disgruntled with the state of the country’s economy.
Adding to the country’s stagnant economic performance, the European Union has frozen some 14 billion euros in funding to Hungary over rule-of-law and corruption concerns. The Orbán government has sought to offset the economic hardship with the introduction of price caps on many products, and efforts to win over voters with low-interest loans for first-time home buyers and the removal of income tax for mothers with at least two children.
Orbán portrays his opponent as inexperienced and claims his alleged foreign allegiances would bankrupt the country and embroil it in the war in neighbouring Ukraine, all of which Magyar has denied. Orbán, unlike most EU leaders, has refused to back Ukraine with economic aid or weapons to help its defence against the Russian invasion.
According to Orbán, the Tisza party, is an EU contrivance conceived in Brussels to replace his government with a puppet regime that will drain Hungary’s finances into Ukraine — and even involve it directly in the war. “Whoever thinks that they support a change in government is in reality supporting the war, whether they know it or not,” Orbán told thousands of his supporters in a speech last month. “There are many Hungarians who believe that they are supporting a good cause when they support Brussels and its puppet government candidates. We must tell them: Brussels today is not a source of help, but a source of danger.”
Orbán’s message is reinforced by a widespread pro-government media that has dominated Hungary’s political discourse for more than a decade, along with taxpayer-funded campaigns that malign Magyar and promote Orbán’s policies.
Several past Hungarian elections were deemed “free but not fair” by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which cited a “pervasive overlap” between the messaging of Fidesz and the government, as well as biased news coverage that “limited voters’ opportunity to make an informed choice.” According to Bíró-Nagy, the situation in the 2026 elections has not changed in that “there is no level playing field.”
Magyar acknowledges that his party has fewer resources with which to campaign and portrays the contest as a “David and Goliath” struggle where “we’re essentially facing a machine with a full arsenal — propaganda, secret services, unlimited government money.” Apart from appealing to traditionally opposition liberal and centrist voters, the Tisza party has also reached out to disaffected Fidesz supporters and other conservative voters. Magyar says his party does not define itself “along ideological fault lines,” but campaigns on “the image of a functioning and humane Hungary, bringing EU money home, introducing anti-corruption measures and welcoming everyone in our community.”
With five months until the election and Tisza still leading, Magyar says he senses a desire for change in the towns and villages as he campaigns but he refuses to be complacent. “I think you should never look down on or underestimate your opponent, especially not Viktor Orbán. He is an experienced player and has a lot to lose in this election, perhaps more than just the prime minister’s seat,” he cautions.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
