Once inspired by Orban, Hungary's Peter Magyar now leads the charge to unseat him

Record ID: 2370211

  • Title: Once inspired by Orban, Hungary's Peter Magyar now leads the charge to unseat him
  • Date: 26th February 2026
  • Summary: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (FILE-OCTOBER 23, 2025) (REUTERS) MAGYAR WAVING HUNGARIAN FLAG ON STAGE In November 2025, Magyar launched a nationwide campaign tour, ahead of the 2026 election, starting with a visit to an elderly care home in western Hungary to deliver donations. CSAKVAR, HUNGARY (FILE-NOVEMBER 5, 2025) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF MAGYAR CARRYING BOXES WITH DONA
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Hungary Peter Magyar TISZA PARTY opposition politics
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • Country: Hungary
  • Topics: Europe,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA003125724032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PROFANITY ON THE BANNER BEHIND MAGYAR SPEAKING AT PROTEST (SHOT 4)
    When Peter Magyar was a child, he taped a photo of Viktor Orban, then an anti-Communist firebrand, on his bedroom wall, thrilled by Hungary's first democratic elections in 1990. Decades later, he hopes to finally end Orban's 16-year rule as prime minister.
    Now, most opinion polls show Magyar's centre-right, pro-European Union Tisza party beating Orban's nationalist Fidesz party in Hungary's April 12 parliamentary election.
    Magyar, whose family name literally means "Hungarian," burst into the limelight two years ago after his ex-wife, Orban's former justice minister Judit Varga, resigned from all political roles after a sex-abuse case pardon that caused public uproar.
    Magyar quickly distanced himself from the governing party and accused it of corruption and spreading propaganda, saying he had become disillusioned with Fidesz.
    Just four months after emerging from near-total obscurity with an interview at YouTube channel Partizan, Magyar’s new party won 30% in the June 2024 European elections, finishing second to Fidesz and crushing the rest of the opposition.
    Next month's election has significant implications not only for Hungary but for Europe and its populist far right.
    Orban has sought to create what he calls an "illiberal democracy" since 2010, curbing media freedoms and NGO activities, and weakening the independence of the judiciary.
    He has forged good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and also with U.S. President Donald Trump, but has clashed repeatedly with the EU, which suspended billions of euros in funding due to concerns over Hungary's democratic standards.
    By contrast, Magyar has pledged to rebuild Hungary's Western orientation and end its dependence on Russian energy by 2035 while striving for "pragmatic relations" with Moscow. He has also promised to unlock the frozen EU funds, which would help revive Hungary's stagnant economy.
    But Magyar is treading carefully, keen not to scare away more conservative voters.
    Magyar has drawn from Orban's playbook in this election, waging a grassroots campaign that has taken him into Fidesz's rural heartlands.
    His rallies always feature lots of national flags, in an Orban-style appeal to Hungarian voters' patriotism.
    Born in 1981 into a family of lawyers, Magyar also studied law. He married Varga in 2006 and when her career took her to Brussels, Magyar joined Hungary's diplomatic corps and worked on EU legislation. After returning to Hungary, he joined a state bank and then headed a student loan agency.
    Magyar and Varga, who divorced in 2023, have three sons.
    Magyar describes himself as religious and says he enjoys cooking and playing soccer with his friends and sons.
    (Production: Krisztina Fenyo, Anna Lubowicka, Malgorzata Wojtunik)
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