– A former insider becomes dangerous to Viktor Orban
He was an Orban man, now Peter Magyar is becoming the big opponent of Hungary’s prime minister. Over the weekend he organized the largest anti-government protests in over a decade.
Published: April 7, 2024, 9:30 p.m
Stood in the background for a long time: Peter Magyar (center).
Photo: Attila Kisbenedek (AFP)
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Peter Magyar had predicted it, and anyone who thought his self-confidence was arrogance a few days ago was proven wrong at the weekend: the new star of Hungarian politics (read a portrait of Peter Magyar here) – until two months ago he was largely unknown Blatt – had announced that he would bring together “a hundred thousand” to demonstrate against Viktor Orban and his “mafia state”. And a hundred thousand came.
The protest, which began at Ferenc Deak Square on Saturday afternoon, proved to be a logistical challenge because the huge square in the city center was overcrowded well ahead of time. The crowd moved on to Parliament Square. At some point, the organizers’ live stream collapsed because too many Hungarians wanted to be there online. Drone images of the city show an unmistakable crowd of people; It is said that it was the largest demonstration in the capital since the right-wing national prime minister took office 14 years ago.
He was once an Orban man
Magyar was in the background for a long time; he was seen as the good-looking man at the side of ex-Justice Minister Judit Varga, who had to resign because of a pardon in an abuse case. The 43-year-old joined Fidesz in the noughties and rose in the slipstream of the party – from managing the student loan center to the legal department of the Hungarian Development Bank to being posted as a diplomat to the embassy in Brussels. Magyar most recently sat on the supervisory boards of state-affiliated companies and was what one would have called an Orban man of moderate influence.
It was said to be the largest demonstration in the capital since the right-wing national prime minister took office 14 years ago.
Photo: AFP
Now everything is different. After his former wife resigned, the qualified lawyer decided to break with the system, present himself as a man of the anti-establishment and go public himself: initially with attacks against the government for its treatment of his ex-wife, then with specific allegations of corruption. He always does this strategically well planned and with central postings on his Facebook page. He usually addresses the people directly, without recourse to other opposition parties, without any major apparatus.
He stands out from the opposition
Magyar calls his troops a “garage movement,” a political start-up, in order to distinguish himself from the weak and discredited opposition. With attacks against the largest anti-Orban party, the Democratic Coalition (DK) and its former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, as well as against the “system party” Fidesz, he wants to introduce himself as a non-partisan candidate. The DK has therefore zeroed in on him just as quickly as Fidesz. This calls the new competitor a “psychopath”.
Magyar takes advantage of the headwind. Here, that is his message, someone wants to do it alone, without baggage, without the old elites. “More than twenty years have passed in which the elected leaders have incited Hungarians against each other, but now we are putting an end to it,” shouted Magyar on Parliament Square at the weekend. Hungarians must stand up together, overcome political divides, restore credibility to politics, and overcome the moral and economic crisis into which Fidesz has plunged the country.
“Stand up, Hungary”
However, he neither presented a concrete program nor announced the founding of a new party. However, Magyar has already taken over an existing club, which his supporters have joined and which uses the slogan “Stand up, Hungary”. He also promised to stand in the European elections in June; However, since the deadline for founding his own party is too short, he plans to join one of the more than hundred registered Hungarian parties, which could offer him the structural basis for an ad hoc election campaign. The result of the European elections in Hungary will be “the first nail in the coffin” for the Orban system, said Magyar.
Peter Magyar had announced that he would bring together “a hundred thousand” to demonstrate against Viktor Orban and his “mafia state”. And a hundred thousand came.
Photo: AFP
In the coming weeks, the new politician is planning a tour throughout Hungary. The pro-government media “Index” commented on Monday that it was “easy to imagine that most opposition parties would not enter the European Parliament” if Magyar ran with his organization. “Index” is silent about the fact that a new Magyar party could also become a problem for Orban.
The Fidesz-loyal media, however, had apparently been at a different event on Saturday: Magyar’s appearance was lost in “embarrassing boredom”, he was wandering around the city center and talking “nonsense”. So, one thing is clear after Magyar’s third, successful major event, the Fidesz party will not be able to cope with Viktor Orban’s new challenger.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor OrbanCathrin Kahlweit has been back in Vienna since September 2020 as a correspondent for Central and Eastern Europe. More info
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