A new political force has emerged on the landscape of Hungarian politics, attracting considerable public support, and posing a significant challenge to the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. On Saturday, this opposition movement brought tens of thousands of people on the streets of Budapest in an anti-government protest. The movement is spearheaded by one man: Péter Magyar, a former ally of Orbán’s Fidesz party who has now vowed to challenge Orbán’s rule. Magyar gave an exclusive interview to TVP World’s correspondent Owidiusz Nicieja where he discussed his political plans for Hungary.
Magyar described how from apparent obscurity, he has now become the face of the opposition in Hungary. “Two months ago, nobody knew me in Hungary or anywhere else, and now, we had the biggest rally in Hungary since 2010,” he said.
He emphasized that it wasn’t tens of thousands of people who showed up during Saturday’s protest, but hundreds of thousands, in fact at least two hundred thousands as per the police sources.
“People in Hungary are fed with the lies, with the hypocrisy of the corrupt government. Now, maybe the time is here, and the change and the spring is unstoppable,” he added.
Answering a question about his political ambitions, Magyar said that his immediate priority is the upcoming elections for the European Parliament (EP) in June.
“...the EP election is coming, so this will be the first very important step for us and for the people…to take back our homeland,” he said.
Our correspondent asked Magyar about the incredulity displayed by some people over his claims of being an oppositionist given that he was once a member of the current ruling party, and an apparent beneficiary of the system led by Orbán. Magyar responded that although he had remained a member of the Fidesz party since 2002, he was never an elected or appointed politician but “a diplomat in Brussels for many years… responsible for the relationship between the European Parliament and Hungarian government”.
Orbán’s transformation from pro-EU to anti-EU
Magyar also clarified that back when he was a member of Fidesz party, Orbán’s style of politics was considerably distinct from what it is today.
“He [Orbán- TVP World] was a completely different person in 2000 or 2002 during his first government. He was a pro-EU, pro-NATO politician, strongly arguing against corruption, against Russia and its influence in Hungary. But he has changed a lot since 2010. Everybody sees in Hungary his position concerning NATO, concerning the EU, and this constant fight against the EU and Brussels,” he added.
He said the reason for such tussles is simply to divert attention from main internal issues like education and the health system.
But while the situation is far from ideal, Magyar does not believe Hungary as of yet qualifies as an authoritarian country, in fact, he remains optimistic that Orbán could be defeated through elections.
“My opinion is that we can defeat the Fidesz. We can beat Viktor Orbán in an election. Of course, it won’t be fair due to media and government influence or the secret services,” he said.
“But we have the chance to defeat them [in an election- TVP World],” he emphasized.
Watch the full interview.
He emphasized that it wasn’t tens of thousands of people who showed up during Saturday’s protest, but hundreds of thousands, in fact at least two hundred thousands as per the police sources.
“People in Hungary are fed with the lies, with the hypocrisy of the corrupt government. Now, maybe the time is here, and the change and the spring is unstoppable,” he added.
Answering a question about his political ambitions, Magyar said that his immediate priority is the upcoming elections for the European Parliament (EP) in June.
“...the EP election is coming, so this will be the first very important step for us and for the people…to take back our homeland,” he said.
Our correspondent asked Magyar about the incredulity displayed by some people over his claims of being an oppositionist given that he was once a member of the current ruling party, and an apparent beneficiary of the system led by Orbán. Magyar responded that although he had remained a member of the Fidesz party since 2002, he was never an elected or appointed politician but “a diplomat in Brussels for many years… responsible for the relationship between the European Parliament and Hungarian government”.
Orbán’s transformation from pro-EU to anti-EU
Magyar also clarified that back when he was a member of Fidesz party, Orbán’s style of politics was considerably distinct from what it is today.
“He [Orbán- TVP World] was a completely different person in 2000 or 2002 during his first government. He was a pro-EU, pro-NATO politician, strongly arguing against corruption, against Russia and its influence in Hungary. But he has changed a lot since 2010. Everybody sees in Hungary his position concerning NATO, concerning the EU, and this constant fight against the EU and Brussels,” he added.
He said the reason for such tussles is simply to divert attention from main internal issues like education and the health system.
But while the situation is far from ideal, Magyar does not believe Hungary as of yet qualifies as an authoritarian country, in fact, he remains optimistic that Orbán could be defeated through elections.
“My opinion is that we can defeat the Fidesz. We can beat Viktor Orbán in an election. Of course, it won’t be fair due to media and government influence or the secret services,” he said.
“But we have the chance to defeat them [in an election- TVP World],” he emphasized.
Watch the full interview.
Source: TVP World
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