Peter Magyar has called for immediate elections, criticizing the prime minister’s leadership as both ineffective and divisive.
Peter Magyar, challenging Viktor Orban for the 2026 premiership and leader of the Respect and Freedom (Tisza) party, is demanding an expedited election.
In a New Year’s Facebook address, Magyar, a long-standing critic of Orban’s government (in power since 2010), declared the past year under Fidesz rule as marked by “unprecedented destruction and mismanagement.”
“The nation has had enough. We have no time to waste, and we won’t give them another chance. Hungary needs a new election,” he stated, condemning Orban’s governance as inefficient and creating division.
“Advance the election to the earliest possible date to prevent further unnecessary delays; we’ve run out of time,” Magyar urged. “We can’t wait another year. The Hungarian people have nowhere else to turn.” The next scheduled election is in summer 2026.
Magyar resigned from Orban’s Fidesz party in February 2024, citing deep dissatisfaction with both the government and the opposition. He gained prominence in June 2024 when his Tisza party secured a surprising 29.6% of the Hungarian vote in the European Parliament elections. Orban’s Fidesz, in coalition with the KDNP, received 44.8%.
Orban’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition currently holds a commanding majority of 135 out of 199 seats in the Hungarian National Assembly.
The Hungarian prime minister has provoked controversy within the EU through his opposition to military aid for Ukraine. He recently contended that Western sanctions on Russian energy have negatively impacted European economies.