BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Hungarian Prime Minister and his main political opponent, P茅ter Magyar, each drew throngs of their supporters to the streets of Hungary’s capital on Sunday for a show of strength before the two men face off in pivotal elections just four weeks away.
The rival rallies in Budapest, which drew hundreds of thousands of people in support of Orb谩n’s nationalist Fidesz party and , are being viewed as a barometer for which side commands more support as the campaign enters its final month.
In power since 2010 and looking for his fifth consecutive election victory, Orb谩n, 62, faces a more competitive race than at any time in the past two decades as Magyar has shot to prominence and challenged what once seemed an unshakable grip on power by the pro-Russian populist.
Addressing a crowd of at least 100,000 on Budapest’s Heroes’ Square, Magyar charged Orb谩n’s government with turning Hungarians against one another through propaganda and divisive policies, and of steering the country away from its rightful place among Western democracies.
鈥淥ur homeland is part of the West, our homeland is part of the European community, our country is part of NATO. And not because of treaties or charters, but because it is written in our destiny,鈥� Magyar said.
鈥淥ur ancestors left us the inheritance of where we belong,鈥� he continued. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not afraid. We have learned from our ancestors that nothing lasts forever.鈥�
Orb谩n leans on anti-Ukraine campaign
In the lead-up to the election, Orb谩n has relied increasingly on an that alleges Kyiv, the European Union and Tisza are part of a conspiracy to oust his government and install one that would financially support Ukraine and send soldiers to fight in its war against Russia.
The election’s stakes, he has claimed, are whether or not the war in Ukraine bankrupts Hungary and sends its youth to their deaths on the front lines.
On Sunday, tens of thousands of Orb谩n supporters marched across a bridge over the Danube and toward Hungary’s parliament, where the prime minister delivered a speech to the crowd which filled a sprawling square. A banner at the front of the march read, 鈥淲e won鈥檛 be a Ukrainian colony!鈥�
In his speech, Orb谩n painted a dark picture of the future filled with the dangers of war and mass migration, but promised he would 鈥減reserve Hungary as an island of security and tranquility even in such a turbulent world.鈥�
He described the elections as a 鈥渃rossroads鈥� for the country’s future, and repeatedly took aim at the EU and Ukraine, comparing them to invading forces from Hungary’s history.
鈥淲e will be here even if hundreds of parachutists from Brussels fall from the sky,鈥� he said, referring to the EU’s de facto capital in Belgium. 鈥淲e will round them up, dust off their pants and send them back, some to Brussels and some to Kyiv.鈥�
During the march, supporter Anik贸 Menyh谩rt said Orb谩n鈥檚 appeal could be summed up in three words: 鈥淕od, homeland, family.鈥�
鈥淥nly this government is able to secure these three things for the future,鈥� she said.
Tisza ahead in polls
Hungary’s stagnating economy, deteriorating public services and a cost of living crisis 鈥� compounded by increasingly salient 鈥� have helped fuel growing dissatisfaction with Orb谩n and his autocratic methods.
While the long-serving leader has centered his campaign around what he says are the threats to Hungary posed by a dangerous outside world, Magyar, a 44-year-old lawyer and one-time Fidesz insider who broke with the party in 2024, has focused his message on improving conditions for ordinary Hungarians.
Through relentless campaigning across Hungary’s rural countryside, traditionally an Orb谩n stronghold, Magyar has spread the message that he will restore Hungary’s democratic institutions that have eroded under Orb谩n and steer the country 鈥� and off its drift toward Moscow.
鈥淥n April 12, we will achieve a victory that will be seen not only from the moon, but also from the Kremlin,” he said.
Tisza holds a lead over Fidesz in most independent polling, and in a February survey by pollster Medi谩n published by the news site HVG, Magyar’s party was at a 20 percentage point advantage among decided voters.
But the outcome of the election remains far from certain as Fidesz has sought to engage its broad support in many rural areas and leverage its control over public broadcasters and a vast web of loyal media outlets to deliver its message.
As part of his campaign, Orb谩n has also used public funds to cover the country in billboards featuring an AI-manipulated image of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flashing a sinister smile. The caption reads: 鈥淲e won鈥檛 let Zelenskyy have the last laugh!鈥�
One Tisza supporter, Attila T贸th, 51, said he believes a Tisza government would improve education, healthcare and transportation, and break with Orb谩n鈥檚 practice of using public spaces for political messaging.
鈥�(Tisza) won鈥檛 brainwash people, and you won鈥檛 feel sick when you walk down the street and see 15 posters every 100 meters (328 feet) telling you who the enemy is at the moment,鈥� he said.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
