After breaking with the government, conservative rises in the polls with anti-corruption speech and criticism of the current political system
A few years ago, Peter Magyar applauded Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s speechesbefore becoming the nationalist leader’s most serious rival in 2010.
“They called me the “eternal opponent” within Fidesz (Orban’s party)”, commented Magyar to AFP, shortly after gaining prominence in 2024 following a scandal involving the forgiveness of child abuse.
A skilled communicator, both on social media and in campaigns, the 45-year-old conservative promises changedismantling Orban’s entire political system “brick by brick”.
Those who know Magyar say he is a perfectionist who demands the best from everyone, is temperamental, but accepts apologizing.
He traveled the country almost non-stop over the last two yearswith the promise to fight corruption and improve public services, which led his party to lead the polls.
His status as a former government figure helped his meteoric rise, according to Andrzej Sadecki, an analyst at the Warsaw-based Center for Oriental Studies.
“It sounds more convincing to some former Fidesz voters when it states that the system is rotten from the inside,” Sadecki told AFP.
“In a way, Magyar is like Orban 20 years ago, without all the baggage, corruption and mistakes in power,” he added.
Born into a family of prominent conservatives, Magyar was drawn to politics from a young age.
During his university years, he became friends with Gergely Gulyas, current chief of staff of and met Judit Varga, whom he married in 2006 and who would become Minister of Justice in the Orban government.
After serving as a diplomat at the European Union, Magyar led the state education loan agency and was on the board of other social entities.
Magyar and Varga, who have three children, divorced in 2023.
Valente
A The opponent’s figure gained prominence when a scandal over the pardon of a case of child abuse shook the government in early 2024, causing the resignation of President Katalin Novak and Varga as Minister of Justice.
Magyar denounced the corruption of Orban’s government and resigned from his public positions.
At that time, he ruled out having political aspirations, but was considered “courageous, action-oriented and willing to take risks”, commented Veronika Kovesdi, a media specialist at ELTE University in Budapest, to AFP.
His messages on social media “resonated emotionally” with his followers, many of whom see him as a “hero who fights tirelessly” for them.
He took control of the unknown TISZA party so he could contest the 2024 European election, reaching second place behind the ruling coalition.
As his popularity grew, Magyar faced a “tsunami of hate and lies,” as he called it. He ridiculed some accusations and denied others, such as allegations of alleged domestic abuse against Varga.
Such attacks “helped him legitimize himself as a leader truly capable of generating change,” according to Kovesdi.
Magyar promised to fight corruption, improve public services such as healthcare and push forward reforms to unlock billions of euros in EU funds for Hungary.
At the international level, he promised to transform the country into a reliable partner of NATO and the EU and to be critical of Russia, unlike Orban, who is close to Moscow, despite the invasion of Ukraine.
Like Orban, Magyar refuses to send weapons to Ukraine and opposes accelerated integration into the EUbut rejects his hostile rhetoric towards Kiev.
His anti-immigration stance is tougher than Orban’s, promising to end the government’s guest worker program.
However, in relation to the rights of the LGBTQIA+ population, its stance has been vague, although it defends equality before the law.
*AFP
