Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar launched the election campaign of his TISA party in Budapest, promising to restore Hungary's Western orientation, the Associated Press reported.
Mádyar, a former member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party, entered Hungary's political scene in 2024 after breaking with his political community and quickly forming the center-right TISA party. After winning about 30% of the vote in the June 2024 European Parliament elections, he turned TISA into the strongest political force Orban has faced in his 16 years at the helm of Hungary. Most independent polls show Tisza with a significant lead ahead of the April 12 vote.
“We are on the verge of victory with 56 days left. Tisza is ready to govern“, he told supporters at an exhibition center in the capital, quoted by the national MTI news agency. “We are at a turning point, now is the time to decide whether we will remain in a regime based on fear, hatred and theft, or finally take back our future. We have everything we need to win: a majority, credible candidates, a platform and experts“, the opposition leader added.
Magyar is campaigning vigorously in rural, conservative areas of Hungary, considered Orban's traditional stronghold - holding rallies and events in numerous villages and towns. He focuses on core issues such as low wages and the rapidly rising cost of living, the AP noted.
Magyar accuses Orban and his government of mismanaging Hungary’s economy and social services, as well as rampant corruption that he says has led to the accumulation of extraordinary wealth among a narrow circle of well-connected insiders while ordinary Hungarians are left behind. He also criticizes Orban for pursuing a confrontational policy with the EU while maintaining close ties with Russia despite its war in neighboring Ukraine. Today, Magyar pointed to meetings he had with a host of European leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany yesterday and today, and said he would put an end to "Hungary's drift away from the European Union."
"Hungary's place is in Europe, not only because Hungary needs Europe, but also because Europe needs Hungary," he said.
Magyar's comments contrasted sharply with Orban's statements made a day earlier at the launch of his own campaign, where he said the real threat to Hungary was not military aggression from Russia, but the European Union.
In a 239-page program published last week, Tisza outlined his plans for how he would govern Hungary if he wins the April election. Fidesz has not published a platform, arguing that after 16 years in power, its voters know what policies to expect.
On Sunday, Magyar reiterated that his party plans to keep the fence built by Orban's government along the country's southern border in 2015, and said he would support Fidesz's policy of opposing illegal immigration and any accelerated procedure for Ukraine's accession to the EU.
However, Magyar promised to return the billions of euros in funding that the EU has withheld from Hungary over concerns that Orban has undermined democratic institutions, reduced the independence of the judiciary and failed to tackle corruption.
„Over the next eight weeks, a power-hungry, mafia state, terrified of losing its power, will unleash the most disgusting things on Hungarian society, and the secret services and propaganda machine built at a cost of hundreds of billions, will unscrupulously seek to discredit anyone who stands in their way,” he added.
Magyar again called on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to engage in a public debate.
“Let's have a debate about the things that really matter: healthcare, wages, housing, education, the Hungarian economy and bringing EU funds home,“ he said.
The TiSA program also promises to fulfill the conditions for adopting the euro by 2030 and to invest in healthcare and public transport in Hungary. TISA also plans to tackle corruption and recover public funds it claims have been funneled into the hands of government-linked oligarchs.
“It is time to call corruption what it is: theft,“ concluded Magyar.