“Peter Magyar has achieved success in the European Parliament against the backdrop of disappointment in Fidesz, but he does not have a long -term strategy” - political scientist • The Insider • RIMA — Russian Independent Media Archive
“Peter Magyar has achieved success in the European Parliament against the backdrop of disappointment in Fidesz, but he does not have a long -term strategy” - political scientist
“Peter Magyar has achieved success in the European Parliament against the backdrop of disappointment in Fidesz, but he does not have a long -term strategy” - political scientist
On June 9, elections to the European Parliament were held in Hungary. The ruling party "Fidesz", led by the country's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, won, but at the same time showed the worst result in the history of participation in the elections,gaining 45% of the vote. In second place was the party “Respect and Freedom” (Tisza), led by the opponent of Orban and the former government official Peter Magyar, gaining almost 30% of the vote. Thus, Fides can count on 11 seats in the European Parliament (the faction has lost 2 places), “respect and freedom” - on 7. On his Facebook page, Magyar thanked the supporters and said that his party would “continue to challenge the Orban car” in the elections to the national parliament, which will take place in 2026.
Andrash Rats, a senior researcher at the International Relations, in a commentary for The Insider called Magyar’s success to impressive, but suggested that the Hungarian policy against Ukraine is unlikely to undergo great changes.
“Six months ago, such a success was inappropriate. Polls have recorded the growth of the Tisza batch since April, but such a result is the upper boundary of forecasts. Although the Orban party held its positions in the municipal and local elections, in the elections to the European parliament, it showed a much worst result than before, and this despite the fact that huge forces and funds were spent on the election campaign. This is not to say that they were too lazy - at the moment it is all the power that Fidesz has.
Magyar is a charismatic and talented political speaker who has chosen the perfect moment to start his campaign. A scandal with the pardon of a person convicted of concealing harassment to children, which occurred in early 2024, undermined one of the key political narratives of Fidesz - the fight against pedophilia at all costs. After such hypocrisy, the state apparatus could not regain control of the discussion for several months. In addition, people have accumulated in people, caused by an increase in the cost of life and economic problems. In the wake of these sentiments, Magyar was able to quickly gain popularity, but now his party is entirely on his charisma and personal brand: she has no other recognizable persons, long -term strategy and an extensive regional network. The creation of all this with the inevitable loss of the image of a new person in the political arena is the main challenge for Magyar for the coming years.
Elections are unlikely to affect the position of the Hungarian government on the Ukrainian issue. In fact, the ruling party of Hungary made a rejection of the “escalation” of the conflict by the Western European states by the central element of its program. And Orban has no reason to turn off this course. ”
Peter Magyar is 43 years old. He held several positions in various government institutions and banks. He began independent political activity in February of this year against the backdrop of the so -called Pardon Scandal - literally a “pardon scandal”. Then President Katalin Novak was forced to resign after it turned out that in 2023 she pardoned the deputy director of the kindergarten, who helped to hide the facts of pedophilia in the institution. The opposition called the cause of pardon the extensive ties of the convict with the Fidesz party. The ex -wife of Magyar, the Minister of Justice of Hungary, Judit Varga, who also signed a pardon document, also resigned. Then Magyar quit from all posts and sharply criticized Viktor Orban on his Facebook page, accusing him of “hiding behind the skirts of women” and under the slogans about the construction of sovereign and prosperous Hungary are engaged only in the accumulation of personal wealth.
In March, he announced that he would join the “Respect and Freedom” party created in 2021 and did not show the political activity of the party and will participate in the elections to the European Parliament. The Magyar campaign was accompanied by mass protests: tens of thousands of people under the slogans “We are not afraid” and “Orban resigned” entered the streets of Budapest and other cities of Hungary.
