Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he was ready to march to Brussels and “occupy” the heart of the European Union a few months before Hungary’s EU presidency. In Budapest, he will have to face Peter Magyar, his new rival.
Accustomed to anti-EU diatribes, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared this Friday that he was ready to march towards Brussels and “occupy” the heart of the European Union in the run-up to the European elections and the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU (in the second half).
Speaking at a commemoration of the 1848 Hungarian revolution against the Habsburg monarchy, Viktor Orban said the European elections were a chance to defend Hungary. “If we want to defend the freedom and sovereignty of Hungary, we have no choice but to occupy Brussels”chanted the nationalist leader, in front of a thousand of his supporters. “We will march to Brussels and bring change to the European Union ourselves.”
In power for 14 years, and after a triumph in the last legislative elections, the Prime Minister of Hungary, who recently met with Donald Trump, also said he was convinced that he would benefit from growing support in the European elections.
To have. Because the nationalist leader is now challenged by a man from his own ranks: Péter Magyar, a young senior official and member of Fidesz, Viktor Orban’s party.
He also organized a rally on Friday which attracted a few thousand Budapesters. He announced the creation of a new political movement.
Péter Magyar, this 43-year-old technocrat, defines himself as a right-wing conservative. “But I can no longer stand seeing our leaders pillage and destroy the country,” he said.
Among the points of his program: the reestablishment of the Ministry of Education, abolished by the current government, the return to independence of the audiovisual sector and Hungary’s membership in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office responsible for controlling the use of funds Europeans.
Péter Magyar has won over the people of Budapest. Most were left-wing voters. This new party would be a priori more embarrassing for the opposition than for Viktor Orban. But some hope that the young rival will also attract right-wing voters disappointed by the government.
Unlike the prime minister, the candidate called for constructive dialogue with the European Union and told his supporters he was creating the movement “Stand up, Hungarian.”
“Every avalanche begins with a snowflake”he wrote on Facebook, promising to fight against “corruption and nepotism” which, according to him, tainted the regime of Viktor Orban.
The new party will try to reclaim the void at the center of Hungarian politics. The movement aims to emerge as a serious force to challenge Fidesz in the next legislative elections in 2026.
