KISKUNHALAS, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Hungarian opposition leader P茅ter Magyar says a crucial election next week where he’s facing pro-Russian Prime Minister will be a 鈥渞eferendum鈥� on whether Hungary continues on its drift toward Eastern autocracies, or can retake its place among the democratic societies of Europe.
Magyar, once an Orb谩n ally, to the nationalist prime minister’s hold on power since he took office in 2010.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Magyar said the European Union’s longest-serving leader has led the country on a 鈥�180-degree turn鈥� in recent years, endangering its Western orientation while .
Yet despite that drift, 鈥淗ungarians still see that Hungary鈥檚 peace and development are guaranteed by membership of the European Union and NATO,鈥� Magyar said. 鈥淚 think this really will be a referendum on our country’s place in the world.鈥�
Magyar spoke to the AP on Thursday following an election rally by his center-right Tisza party in Kiskunhalas, a small city of around 25,000 on Hungary’s southern great plain. It was one of hundreds of across the country, a campaign blitz that has him visiting up to six towns a day ahead of the April 12 election.
Orb谩n has gained a within the EU for his frequent vetoes of important decisions. He has campaigned by sounding the alarm on a myriad of external dangers he says are threatening Hungarians 鈥� the war in Ukraine, a cabal of EU bureaucrats and financial elites aligned against Hungary, and an immigration crisis ever on the horizon.
Magyar, who is leading in most polls, has focused on issues that affect voters’ everyday lives, like Hungary鈥檚 faltering state health care and public transportation sectors and what he describes as rampant government corruption.
At each of his rallies, he charges Orb谩n and his nationalist-populist Fidesz party with making Hungary the 鈥減oorest and most corrupt鈥� country in the EU 鈥� and depicts a 鈥減eaceful, humane and functioning鈥� country that is within reach.
Yet alongside that domestic message, Magyar has increasingly portrayed Orb谩n鈥檚 brinksmanship with the EU, and his drift toward Russia, as matters of critical importance for the country鈥檚 future.
鈥淚 think that Tisza will have an overwhelming electoral victory, because even Fidesz voters do not want our country to be a Russian puppet state, a colony, an assembly plant, instead of belonging to Europe,鈥� he said.
鈥楾he Tisza is flooding鈥�
Magyar and his party’s meteoric rise caught many Hungarians by surprise. For nearly a decade and a half, a broad slate of fractured opposition parties had tried and failed to mount a serious threat to Orb谩n’s hold on power.
While opposition politicians often slammed Orb谩n during debates in parliament, they rarely made efforts to win over his base of support in the rural countryside. Frustrated after a , many opposition voters descended into political apathy.
Magyar, a 45-year-old lawyer and former Fidesz insider, was previously married to an Orb谩n ally who served as Hungary鈥檚 justice minister. After working for several years as a diplomat in Brussels, he returned to Hungary and took positions in state institutions, gaining familiarity with the workings of Orb谩n’s system.
But then, in the wake of a in 2024 involving a presidential pardon to an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case, Magyar publicly broke with Orb谩n’s party, accusing it of overseeing entrenched corruption and capturing Hungary’s institutions.
He quickly founded the center-right Tisza party 鈥� named for Hungary’s second-largest river 鈥� which, only four months after Magyar’s break into electoral politics, in European Parliament elections.
As Tisza’s popularity grew, a chant heard at its rallies became a motto for its rise: 鈥淭he Tisza is flooding.鈥�
While Magyar has cast his task in the election as dismantling Orb谩n’s autocratic system, he has promised to keep some of the prime minister’s policies he views as positive, such as a fence along the southern border to keep out migrants, and a popular utility reduction program.
Still, his party 鈥� a member of the European Parliament’s largest, center-right group 鈥� diverges from the constellation of far-right political movements in Europe and beyond that view Orb谩n as a shining example of nationalist populism in action.
In a sign of U.S. President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement’s admiration for Orb谩n, Vice President on Tuesday in support of his reelection.
Constructive, but critical
Many EU leaders are watching Hungary’s election in the hopes that Orb谩n will be defeated.
His frequent vetoes 鈥� which most recently included for Ukraine 鈥� have often been to please his euroskeptic base, Magyar said, 鈥渧etoing just to veto so he can say at home that he is vetoing.鈥�
The prime minister’s conduct has led to renewed calls within the EU to reform the bloc鈥檚 foundational treaties by reducing the number of decisions that require unanimity 鈥� a way to buttress against the paralysis that can be caused by intransigent member states.
Magyar said that under a Tisza government, European leaders can expect a 鈥渃onstructive position,鈥� but one that is 鈥渃ritical and willing to debate. We want to be there at the table.鈥�
Despite Orb谩n’s exploitation of the EU’s unanimity rules, the ability to veto important decisions is a 鈥渧alid option,鈥� he continued, adding: 鈥淚 think the European leaders have no problem with this, they have a problem with the unnecessary troublemaker role.鈥�
鈥淭he task of a Hungarian prime minister at any given time is to represent Hungarian interests, and if necessary, to represent them forcefully,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hatever it costs.鈥�
Russian energy
Orb谩n has confounded, and even angered, nearly every other EU leader with his conciliatory approach to Russia and closeness to President Vladimir Putin. Some EU officials, and many of his opponents at home, have accused him of on Moscow鈥檚 behalf.
As nearly every EU country cut off supplies of Russian fossil fuels following the in February 2022, Hungary, along with Slovakia, maintained and 鈥� drawing ire from many countries who accused them of helping finance the war.
While Magyar has condemned Hungary’s drift toward Moscow, as well as reports that Russian secret services are meddling in the election to tip it in Orb谩n’s favor, he said his future government will pursue a 鈥減ragmatic鈥� approach toward Russia.
鈥淧ragmatism means that we have no say in Russia鈥檚 internal affairs, and they don鈥檛 have any say in our affairs,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are both sovereign countries, and we respect each other, but we don鈥檛 have to like each other.鈥�
Magyar has criticized Orb谩n’s government for failing to diversify its energy mix, and advocated for reaching new agreements and constructing new infrastructure to bring oil and gas from other sources into landlocked Hungary.
Still, he said, 鈥渢his does not mean that we must stop using Russian oil tomorrow. It means that the European Union鈥檚 resources must be used well.鈥�
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