Orbán sticks to campaign script as he repeats attack lines against Ukraine
Flora Garamvolgyi
in Székesfehérvar
Orbán is here!
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán speaks during an election campaign rally in Szekesfehervar, Hungary. Photograph: Leonhard Föger/Reuters
“I once asked Schwarzenegger how many push-ups you have to do for it to count. He said it starts to count when it hurts. It’s the same with this campaign.”
He says Fidesz needs three million votes to win and can only get it with the votes of Hungarians abroad.
“We can lose a lot in this election, but they stand to lose even more. (…) They need a strong motherland.”
On how the campaign is going, Orban says he was in Debrecen yesterday and people there were confident they are going to win.
He also repeats his attack lines on Ukraine as he tells Tisza supporters to “stand on one leg until the Ukrainians get back the money they believe Russia owes them.”
In his view, if the opposition wins, they will take the Hungarian money and give it to Ukraine, and repeats his criticism of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alleging he wanted to cause chaos in Hungary to “have a pro-Ukrainian government” instead.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán and opposition leader Péter Magyar took part in major rallies on the penultimate day of campaign in Hungary in a final push to mobilise their supporters ahead of this weekend’s pivotal parliamentary election.
Addressing a Fidesz stronghold in Székesfehérvar, Orbán largely stuck to his campaign lines attacking Ukraine and warning voters about the risks associated with a government change.
Meanwhile, Magyar pushed to win over more votersin the final 48 hours of the campaign, as polls suggest his Tisza party could win the vote on Sunday, ending Orbán’s 16-year rule.
Over in Budapest, the party is very much still onHeroes’s Square and adjacent areas, with the City Park absolutely packed with people coming and going from the anti-Orbán concert.
It will be a long night in Budapest.
People raise their hands while attending a free concert as they protest against Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, Hungary. Photograph: Bernadett Szabó/Reuters
But it’s worth remembering that the capital is expected to heavily back the opposition on Sunday, so this perhaps should not be that much of a surprise. But as “get out the vote” move, this will definitely help.
Orbán sticks to campaign script as he repeats attack lines against Ukraine
Flora Garamvolgyi
in Székesfehérvar
Orbán is here!
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán speaks during an election campaign rally in Szekesfehervar, Hungary. Photograph: Leonhard Föger/Reuters
“I once asked Schwarzenegger how many push-ups you have to do for it to count. He said it starts to count when it hurts. It’s the same with this campaign.”
He says Fidesz needs three million votes to win and can only get it with the votes of Hungarians abroad.
“We can lose a lot in this election, but they stand to lose even more. (…) They need a strong motherland.”
On how the campaign is going, Orban says he was in Debrecen yesterday and people there were confident they are going to win.
He also repeats his attack lines on Ukraine as he tells Tisza supporters to “stand on one leg until the Ukrainians get back the money they believe Russia owes them.”
In his view, if the opposition wins, they will take the Hungarian money and give it to Ukraine, and repeats his criticism of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alleging he wanted to cause chaos in Hungary to “have a pro-Ukrainian government” instead.
Huge crowds gather at anti-Orbán concert in Budapest
Meanwhile in Budapest, a huge crowd takes part in a free concert protesting against Viktor Orbán’s government in a bid to get out the younger vote on Sunday.
People take part in a free concert as they protest against Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán ahead of the parliamentary election at the Heroes’ Square, in Budapest, Hungary. Photograph: Bernadett Szabó/Reuters
The stage is pictured as people attend the so-called 'Rendszerbonto' 'System demolish' concert with more than 40 performers attending organised by Citizen Resistance movement at the Heroes' Square in Budapest, Hungary. Photograph: Ferenc Isza/AFP/Getty Images
People take part in a free concert as they protest against Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán ahead of the parliamentary election, at Heroes' Square, in Budapest, Hungary. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters
Fidesz rallies its supporters in Székesfehérvar stronghold
Flora Garamvolgyi
in Székesfehérvar
On this chilly Friday evening, around 500 people are at Városház square in Székesfehérvar to hear Orbán.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán holds an election campaign rally in Székesfehérvar Photograph: Leonhard Föger/Reuters
The host of the event is encouraging people to hold up their Fidesz signs and to talk to friends, acquaintances, and colleagues to vote for Fidesz on Sunday.
Mayor Gábor Törő is on stage. He included ethnic Hungarians in the opening line of his speech.
“Let’s get loud! Until now we were the silent majority,” it booms from stage.
A small group of far-right nationalists are chanting: “Ria-Ria-Hungária!”
The next speaker stage is saying Székesfehervár is the “city of kings” as he likens Orbán to King St Stephen.
“If we want to stay out of the war then our task is to vote for Fidesz, for Viktor Orbán on Sunday.”
Could this be the end of Viktor Orbán in Hungary? - video
Over the past 16 years prime minister Viktor Orbán has turned Hungary into what he calls an ‘illiberal democracy’, using a parliamentary supermajority to effect constitutional control over institutions, targeting minorities, political opponents and the independent media in the process.
Yet in spite of this power, he is projected to lose the popular vote at the upcoming election, the most critical in Europe this year.
With rightwing populism on the march globally, the Guardian’s On the Ground team has recently visited Budapest to find out ifHungary might have found the template for how to fight an oligarchy.
Watch the documentary here:
Orbán is out: What Hungary teaches us about how to end an oligarchy
Orbán visits Fidesz stronghold of Székesfehérvár on penultimate campaign day
Flora Garamvolgyi
moving on Intercity 862 Balaton train to Székesfehérvár
I am on my way to one of the last Viktor Orbán rallies, in Székesfehérvár, a city an hour away from Budapest where the Fidesz mayor previously won about 70 percent of the votes.
“In Székesfehérvár, the city leadership is quite loyal to Fidesz,” said Mátyás Bódi, an analyst at the Electoral Geography website.
“But Fidesz won here in the past mainly because of the opposition’s lack of unity, and the fact that voting districts were completely redistricted* by the end of 2024 also contributed to that.”
By “redistricted” he essentially means redrawn – and largely to benefit the government.
Also, you may very reasonably ask why I focus so much on Magyar today, and not the incumbent prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
People walk by an electoral poster showing Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán and the slogan "Let's stand together against the war!" in Albertirsa, Hungary. Photograph: Eldar Emric/AP
That’s purely down to scheduling and where the two candidates are, but the good news is that I will be attending Orbán’s rally in Budapest tomorrow and will tell you all about it in our pre-election blog on Sunday.
During Magyar’s rallies, there is a (surprisingly decent) selection of songs that play before he comes out on stage, but one stands out in particular.
It’s a song from a Hungarian smash hit rock opera István, a király, about the life of the first Hungarian king, Saint Stephen.
Te kit választanál? (“Who would you choose?”) tells the story of the power struggle following the death of Grand Prince Géza around 997.
The battle for the crown pitted his son, Stephen, or István, who advocated for the transformation of Hungary into a Christian state against his uncle, the traditionalist pagan lord Koppány, who made a claim because of his seniority.
Tomorrow, someone will have to defeat the darkness
Say, who would you choose?
Tomorrow, someone will have to rewrite the old tales
Oh, say, who would you choose?
Tomorrow, someone will have to bring salvation to this world.
I will let you draw your own historical parallels that Magyar’s Tisza seemingly wants to suggest here; in the original storyline, István won (after a pretty brutal struggle, though).
Curiously, Orban’s Fidesz also uses another song from the very same opera, which sort of nicely reflects the fact that, as the Hungarian media reported, the duo behind it is similarly politically divided.
Another supporter, Levente Kohári, told me how about his hopes to see Magyar adopt a more pro-business platform to help younger entrepreneurs like him grow their innovative startups in Hungary.
He was particularly frustrated by the state of the Hungarian economy and reported allegations of misuse of public funds.
“I do not want to pay taxes to … a state where my tax money goes to waste,” he said. “It’s absolutely not the right thing to do.”
He said he was frustrated with Viktor Orbán’s government for not supporting young entrepreneurs, and would expect a bigger push towards supportive regulations and to make the most of the EU membership.
“I want to change the world … that’s why I started my companies, that is why I continuing to doing this. Obviously, there are other benefits, but that’s not the main goal. And if someone is not supporting, … helping people [grow], I think that’s just a waste of my time, effort, money, everything.”
Under a new government, he would want to see “an incubator for startups to bring … the Hungarian GDP back up and [use] the [human] capital of people’s minds. There is a bunch of smart people, and they [the government] are just wasting that.”
Although he lives in Budapest, he has registered to cast his ballot in Hatvan, where his parents reside, as he thinks his vote will matter more there in case of a close result.
On the margins of Magyar’s rally, I managed to briefly chat with some of his supporters.
Xenia – who didn’t want to give her second name – told me she “really hope there will be some change in Hungary, because we really need it.”
“After 16 years, there is [finally] some hope, at least for now,” she said.
Asked about Magyar, she said:
“I don’t know what’s so special about him, but we tried to change the regime four years [ago], but the candidate wasn’t strong enough.
He [Magyar] can attract many [more] people around him, … and whatever happens, we have to try.
I don’t know if it’s going to work out or not [with Magyar], but this is the first chance that we actually have to change something, and it would be foolish not to try.”
People raise hands in support for Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar, speaking, at a rally in Hatvan, Hungary Photograph: Jakub Krupa/The Guardian
Magyar shows up pretty much on time to a rock star welcome from high hundreds of supporters. The crowd has grown massively in the last half hour.
Opposition Tisza party leader Peter Magyar’s rally in Hatvan, east of Budapest Photograph: Jakub Krupa/The Guardian
As is now customary, he walks into the crowd with his flag as he poses to some pictures and selfies before delivering his campaign speech and reminding people of how little time is left in this campaign.
Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar delivers his campaign speech in Hatvan, east of Budapest Photograph: Jakub Krupa/The Guardian
He’s got eight more rallies to go, ending in Debrecen tomorrow night.
