Hungarian opposition leader Magyar vows to pull Hungary back toward the West in campaign launch

Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar is launching his election campaign and says he can return Hungary to a stronger European path NewsHungarian opposition leader Magyar vows to pull Hungary back toward the West in campaign launchHungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar is launching his election campaign and says he can return Hungary to a stronger European pathJustin Spike Sunday 15 February 2026 17:22 GMTBookmarkBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverHungarian opposition leader Magyar vows to pull Hungary back toward the West in campaign launchShow all 5Your support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read more Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar launched his party's election campaign in Budapest on Sunday, vowing to restore Hungary's Western orientation just eight weeks before he faces Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a pivotal vote. Magyar, a former insider in Orbán's nationalist Fidesz party, burst onto Hungary's political scene in 2024 after breaking with his political community and quickly forming the center-right Tisza party. After taking around 30% of the vote in European Parliament elections in June 2024, he has grown Tisza into the most formidable political force Orbán has faced during his 16 years at Hungary's helm. Most independent polls show Tisza with a significant lead before the April 12 vote, an advantage which has held steady for more than a year. “We’re standing on the threshold of victory with 56 days left to go,” he told supporters during his speech at an exposition center in Budapest on Sunday. “Tisza stands ready to govern.” Magyar has vigorously campaigned across Hungary's rural, conservative heartland — traditionally an Orbán stronghold — holding rallies and town hall events in scores of villages and towns. He has focused on bread and butter issues such as low wages and rapidly rising living costs that have made Hungary one of the poorest countries in the European Union. Magyar accuses Orbán and his government of mismanaging Hungary's economy and social services, and overseeing unchecked corruption he says has led to the accumulation of extreme wealth within a small circle of well-connected insiders while leaving ordinary Hungarians behind. He has also criticized Orbán for conducting a combative foreign policy with the EU while maintaining close ties to Russia despite its war in neighboring Ukraine. On Sunday, Magyar pointed to meetings he held with numerous European leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany over the weekend, and said he would put an end to Hungary “drifting out of the European Union” under Orbán.“Hungary’s place is in Europe, not only because Hungary needs Europe, but also because Europe needs Hungary,” he said. Magyar's comments contrasted starkly with statements Orbán made a day earlier at his own campaign launch, where he said the real threat facing Hungary was not military aggression from Russia, but the European Union. Tisza’s program In a 239-page program released last week, Tisza outlined its plans for how it would govern Hungary if it wins April’s elections. Fidesz has not released a program, arguing that after governing for 16 years, its voters know what kinds of policies to expect. On Sunday, Magyar reiterated that his party plans to retain a fence Orbán's government built along the country's southern border in 2015, and said he would maintain Fidesz's policies of opposing illegal immigration and any accelerated procedure for Ukraine to join the EU. However, Magyar has vowed to bring home billions in funding the EU has suspended to Hungary over its concerns that Orbán has eroded democratic institutions, reduced judicial independence and failed to tackle corruption. The program also pledges to fulfill conditions for adopting the euro currency by 2030, and to invest in Hungary's faltering state health care and public transportation sectors. Tisza also plans to crack down on corruption and recover public funds it argues have been funneled into the hands of government-connected oligarchs."It is time to call corruption what it is: theft," Magyar said Sunday. Tisza's candidates For its candidates in each of Hungary's 106 individual voting constituencies, Tisza has largely drawn on