In response to growing sentiment against incumbent Prime Minister Orbán Viktor’s Fidesz government, thousands of Hungarians have rallied in Debrecen, led by Péter Magyar’s burgeoning Tisza party, JURIST reports. This demonstration was one in a series of such protests, focused on women’s rights and issues, in the lead-up to the European parliamentary elections.
The night before the demonstration, alleged intimidation efforts by the Hungarian government were reported; provocative signs appeared in the square where the protest was to be held. Magyar, who is gaining popularity with his anti-corruption stance, accuses the ruling Fidesz party of using propaganda and corrupt practices to retain power, and Facebook posts suggest its tactics may include overt intimidation.
Hungary experienced an unsettling increase in investigations from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in 2023, as noted by Atlatszo. The EPPO, while lacking Hungary as a member, conducted 80 investigations into the country last year, double that of the previous year.
Magyar continues his political campaign tour across Hungary, gathering support for Tisza candidates running in both the local and European parliamentary elections scheduled for June 9. Recent polling data indicate that the new Tisza party has quickly emerged as the leading opposition and poses perhaps the greatest challenge to Fidesz that the party has faced in recent memory.
Stirred by existing political scandals, including the dubious pardoning of an orphanage director guilty of covering up sexual abuse, protests have become common in Hungary since February. Magyar himself leaped to political prominence after a secret recording that implicated a top minister in a corruption case was made public.
Having ruled since 2010, the conservative Fidesz party’s dominance of Hungary has not gone uncontested. With Debrecen under their control since the 1990s, this latest demonstration underscore the challenges that the party will face at the forthcoming parliamentary elections.