Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his main political opponent, Peter Magyar, called their supporters to the streets of Budapest on Sunday for a show of strength before the two face off in pivotal elections. The rival rallies in the capital, which drew hundreds of thousands of people in support of Orban's nationalist Fidesz party and Magyar's center-right Tisza, are being viewed as a barometer for which side commands more support as the campaign enters its final month. Tisza holds a lead over Fidesz in most independent polling, the AP reports, but the outcome remains far from certain as Fidesz has sought to engage its broad support in many rural areas and leverage its control over public broadcasters and loyal media outlets to deliver its message.
In power since 2010 and looking for his fifth consecutive election victory, Orban, 62, faces a more competitive race than at any time in the past two decades as Magyar has shot to prominence and challenged what once seemed to be an unshakeable grip on power by the pro-Russian populist. The prime minister has relied increasingly on an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign that alleges Kyiv, the European Union, and Tisza are part of a conspiracy to oust his government and install one that would financially support Ukraine and send soldiers to fight in its war against Russia.
- Fidesz: Tens of thousands of Orban supporters marched Sunday across a bridge over the Danube and toward parliament, where the prime minister delivered a speech to the crowd that filled the sprawling square. A banner at the front of the march read, "We won't be a Ukrainian colony!" Orban painted a dark picture of the future filled with the dangers of war and mass migration but promised he would "preserve Hungary as an island of security and tranquility even in such a turbulent world." He described the elections in 28 days as a crossroads for the country's future, and repeatedly took aim at the EU and Ukraine, comparing them to invading forces from Hungary's past. "We will be here even if hundreds of parachutists from Brussels fall from the sky," he said, referring to the EU's de facto capital in Belgium. "We will round them up, dust off their pants and send them back, some to Brussels and some to Kyiv." Supporter Aniko Menyhart said Orban's appeal could be summed up in three words: "God, homeland, family," adding, "Only this government is able to secure these three things for the future."
- Tisza: Magyar, a 44-year-old lawyer, has focused his message on improving conditions for ordinary Hungarians. The nation is dealing with a stagnating economy, deteriorating public services and a cost of living crisis—compounded by allegations of government corruption. The issues have fueled growing dissatisfaction with Orban and his autocratic style. Relentlessly campaigning across the countryside, historically an Orban stronghold, Magyar has promised that he will restore Hungary's democratic institutions and steer the country back toward its Western partners and off its drift toward Moscow. In a video posted early Sunday, Magyar said his party "would like to give back to every Hungarian what the outgoing government has taken away: our belief in our freedom, and the feeling that our homeland truly belongs to every Hungarian." Magyar's supporters kicked off their march through central Budapest later, filling the length of one of the city's longest avenues. One supporter said he believed an opposition victory would result in the EU releasing billions in funding for Hungary that has been frozen over rule-of-law and corruption concerns under Orban. "If we could bring EU funds home and stop wasting billions on propaganda, we could use that money for so many other things," said Áron Pinter, 19.
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