Orbán – whose 16-year rule is seriously threatened in the elections in four weeks – portrays Magyar as a puppet of Brussels and Kyiv, while Magyar accuses the Moscow-friendly prime minister of seeking the Kremlin's help to stay in power.
In a speech to tens of thousands of supporters outside parliament, the 62-year-old Orbán promised that with him at the helm, Hungary would remain “a safe and calm island in a chaotic world.”
Headwinds in public opinion
Orbán's right-wing nationalist Fidesz party has faced headwinds in opinion polls recently, while he has increasingly focused his election campaign on an aggressive anti-Ukrainian message, with repeated attacks on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Specifically, he has accused Ukraine of delaying repairs to the damaged Druzhba pipeline - which delivers oil from Russia to Hungary.
“We will not be a Ukrainian colony,” read one of the banners in the crowd chanting “Viktor, Viktor” as the prime minister entered the stage.
Talk about a crossroads
Orbán painted the April 12 election as a “crossroads” for the country and symbolically spoke of the EU and Ukraine as an invading force.
We will remain here even if hundreds of parachutists from Brussels fall from the sky, he said.
44-year-old Péter Magyar, who leads the social conservative opposition party Tisza, has in turn promised to rebuild Hungary's democratic institutions and turn the country back towards the EU.
In his speech at Heroes' Square in front of at least 100,000 people, Magyar warned that Prime Minister Orbán was threatening Hungary's freedom and independence by "inviting Russian agents to influence the elections."
"Our homeland is part of the West, our homeland is part of the European Community, our homeland is part of NATO. And not because of treaties or charters, but because it is our destiny," said Magyar.
Viktor Orbán (born 1963) has been the Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010 and leads the conservative Fidesz party, which at the EU level is part of the far-right PFE group together with, among others, the French National Rally and the Belgian Vlaams Belang.
Péter Magyar (born 1981) has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2024 and is party leader of the opposition party Tisza, which at the EU level is part of the Christian Democratic conservative party group EPP with, among others, Sweden's M and KD.
