- Title: Orban scales up 'war or peace' campaign as Hungary heads to pivotal vote
- Date: 13th February 2026
- Summary: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (FEBRUARY 9, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CAMPAIGN BILLBOARDS COMMISSIONED BY HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT BY ROAD BILLBOARD SHOWING HEAD OF EUROPEAN COMMITTEE URSULA VON DER LEYEN READING (Hungarian): “Money for Ukraine”, AND OPPOSITION TISZA PARTY LEADER PETER MAGYAR REPLYING “Yes” / BILLBOARD READING (Hungarian): “He cannot say 'No' to them” TORN DOWN BILLBOARD
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Hungary Peter Magyar Vikor Orban election election campaign
- Location: BUDAPEST, SZOMBATHELY, GYONGYOS AND BICSKE, HUNGARY
- City: BUDAPEST, SZOMBATHELY, GYONGYOS AND BICSKE, HUNGARY
- Country: Hungary
- Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001489512022026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Facing the possibility of losing power after 16 years, Prime Minister Viktor Orban is casting Hungary's election on April 12 as a stark choice between "war or peace", saying his opponents would drag the country into the war raging next door in Ukraine.
Hungarian voters have been sent letters from Orban urging them to fill out a "national petition" rejecting European Union financial aid to Ukraine, a message constantly reinforced on state television, which is firmly under government control.
Fidesz has also put up billboards nationwide that depict an obedient-looking opposition leader Peter Magyar saying "yes" as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen demands "Money for Ukraine!" and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asks for weapons.
Orban has long been at loggerheads with the EU over Ukraine, among many other issues. Defying Brussels, he has maintained cordial ties with Moscow, refuses to send weapons to Ukraine, and says Kyiv can never join the EU.
Magyar's centre-right Tisza party, which leads most opinion polls, says it wants Hungary to rejoin the European mainstream after years of strained relations under Orban that have seen crucial EU funds blocked.
Magyar has dismissed Orban's campaign as laughable "propaganda", but Tisza has trodden cautiously on Ukraine, saying it opposes any fast-track EU accession for Kyiv and that it would put the issue to a binding referendum if it wins power. Ukraine needs the backing of all 27 EU nations to join.
In the town of Gyongyos, a Fidesz stronghold some 230 km (143 miles) from the Ukraine border, some people said the war was a key concern, but many also said economic issues were their main worry.
"We should not swap stability for the uncertain choice, and especially, no one wants the war," said Szabolcs Dauka, 39.
“I don’t agree with it (referring to the billboard campaign), or with anything that drives people into a fear of having a war or into a sense of insecurity," said Orsolya Bakos, 56, who has two children.
Orban hopes his anti-Ukraine rhetoric will resonate with voters just as his tough stance on migration has done since 2015, when he built a border fence to keep out migrants.
He also repeated accusations that Kyiv and Brussels are interfering in Hungary's election, a charge both reject.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry summoned Hungary's ambassador to Kyiv on January 28 to protest about the meddling allegations.
Asked about Orban's campaign rhetoric, the European Commission told Reuters the best way of ending the war and ensuring a lasting peace was to maintain economic pressure on Russia and admit Ukraine to the EU, once it meets the criteria.
However, public sentiment in Hungary towards Kyiv has cooled as the war drags on.
A survey published in December by Policy Solutions and Zavecz Research showed that opposition to EU aid for Ukraine had risen to 63% in 2025 from 41% in 2023, while 64% of Hungarians opposed Kyiv's EU membership.
Andras Biro-Nagy, director of Policy Solutions, a political research institute in Budapest, said Orban's comments on Ukraine might strike a chord beyond his Fidesz base.
"It puts an issue on the table on which opinions may vary even among Tisza supporters and which could also be useful for addressing undecided voters," he said.
Tisza, which is campaigning on promises to tackle corruption and revive the economy, currently has an 8-12 percentage-point lead over Fidesz among decided voters. However, pro-government pollsters show a Fidesz lead, and many voters remain undecided.
(Production: Krisztina Fenyo, Anna Lubowicka) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None