An Analysis of the Intrinsic Nature of Fidesz, its Role in Shaping the Lives of Hungarians and the Rise of the Tisza Party

To begin with, Hungarian politics has become very convoluted in 2024, especially in the last couple of months. Should we want to understand the basic intricacies of the current government and system, we need to put it into context. This essay will mainly delve into the intrinsic nature of the incumbent party, its role in shaping the lives of Hungarians and the emergence of the Tisza Party as a viable alternative in the realm of politics.

Photograph: János Kummer / Getty Images

Context:

It was not until the pardon scandal back in February that it became more apparent than ever before that Fidesz is no longer capable of governing Hungary. For many, this was the last straw as tens of thousands of people marched on the streets to speak out against a suppressing regime. In fact, the system in Hungary could be best described as an authoritarian one. It is fair to say that there was widespread discontent throughout the country and, therefore, a lot of voters became disenchanted from Fidesz. Seemingly, this sense of disillusion was echoed throughout the country.

Yet, this is only the tip of the iceberg! The problem stems from the fact that Fidesz subjugates the welfare of the people - they are supposed to serve – to their own financial incentives and personal gains. No wonder, the government had to face major backlash from voters.

The emergence of Péter Magyar:

Among those appalled, Péter Magyar also expressed his concerns about the prospects of our nation if we continue the way we did in the past 12 years. Little did we know what the future would bring!

A few weeks later, Magyar appeared in several government-critic media outlets to initiate a public discourse on how we could reform our country. From the moment he started his campaign, he drew a lot of media attention. As time went by, he gained ground against other opposition parties and became an increasingly popular public figure in the media.

Sudden epiphany:

As a matter of fact, the main reason why people gave credibility to him was the fact that he was a former insider of Fidesz. Basically, the answer for his unexpected departure from the party lies in a combination of factors. On the one hand, he realized that Hungary was in the 11^th hour. The other reason for that was that, during his period in Fidesz, he spent enough time and gained hands-on experience of the system. Therefore, he could throw light on the underlying problems that remained unsolved up until this day.

To tell the truth, Péter Magyar served as an eye-opener for many, as for the less perspicacious voter the root causes of the issues in question were not apparent. During his campaign, he gave us invaluable insights into the closest circles of Fidesz. Obviously, Fidesz would have swept a lot of these secrets under the carpet. With these in mind, it made him even more authentic in the public eye. He took Hungary under his wing and aimed to rejuvenate it with his patriotic mindset.

A real alternative:

Against all odds, Péter Magyar managed to establish his own party that came to be known as the Tisza Party. Since then, he was elected vice-president and became a critical figure of Fidesz. Magyar certainly earned the trust of the voters as it managed to forge ahead with their plan and got into the European Parliament with 7 seats. This was a fairly good overall result in no less than 2 months.

Needless to say, this remarkable success of his political party can be put down to their clarity of vision which is exactly the reason why they stand out in the crowd. Unfortunately, this is not the case with other opposition parties as in most cases they lacked the credibility factor in the last 20 years or so. Generally speaking, the Tisza Party seems to have become a formidable opponent for the government in the upcoming elections.

Photograph: István Huszti / Telex

Different means of effective communication:

Apart from that, it was a sensible decision of VP Péter Magyar to take to social media sites to communicate his ideas, proposals and, at certain times, harsh criticism about Fidesz. After a few months, enormous numbers of users are already following his social accounts to catch up with the latest news, be it on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. This is a transparent way of communicating straight-forward ideas towards the voters who count on him. Furthermore, he makes use of rhetorical devices and plays with words which is also appealing for his staunch supporters.

What is more, sometimes he even comments below certain Facebook posts and tells its users, for example, on the page of the state-owned media, M1, that many of their claims are either unfounded or deliberately misleading. This is yet another way of how the Tisza Party amplifies its narrative. In the vast majority of instances, he demolishes the arguments of the state media with a short comment that appears to be an effective technique.

Also, Péter Magyar is sometimes invited to short interviews by ATV, and Telex. In these talks, he also aims to disseminate his stances on a wide range of subjects so that everyone gets the message. Admittedly, these media outlets are underrepresented in the countryside, but Magyar still cares about these areas as he held a lot of rallies there, as well.

(see the video for English subtitles)

Pitfalls of Fidesz:

Recently, Viktor Orbán and his government failed to remain consistent with its core values. For example, there is a glaring inconsistency between their Christian values and the scandals surrounding the government. Surely, they preferred to have glossed over some of following issues listed below:

Former president, Katalin Novák pardoned a man convicted of covering up a child sexual abuse case that former justice minister Judit Varga countersigned.
Catholic clergyman and close Fidesz-affiliate, Gergő Bese was accused of regularly attending gay orgies and participating in pornographic video recordings.
Ex-member of Fidesz, Balázs Győrffy happened to have physically assaulted a woman.

These courses of action certainly don't align with Christian values, not by any means.

Photograph: Péter Lakatos / MTI

Anti-immigration policies:

In recent times, Fidesz has established facilities that were specifically designed to shelter illegal immigrants near the borders. Nonetheless, on M1 they always reiterate that Hungary should combat migration. Doubtless, their agenda is less plausible than it was half a year ago.

On top of all of this, every time there was a scandal, Fidesz sought to distract the voters’ attention to cover things up. Oddly enough, one example of this is the constant scapegoating of illegal immigrants in Western societies that comes across as hypocritical.

Education:

There were quite a few child abuse incidents in schools, all of which the government is to be held accountable for. Tough they enacted a child protection law in 2024, they haven’t come to grips with the issue directly since then. To illustrate the magnitude of this problem, a lot of students are picked on by their peers. Unfortunately, many of them can even get away with murder since there is little or no intervention. The latter can be attributed to the shortage of teachers in the Hungarian labour market which leads to less control over students. Presumably, this is the reason why these policies are just recommended in education.

Public healthcare:

Péter Magyar travelled across the country and paid a visit to some hospitals with his college, András Kulja who is a doctor by profession. Their goal was to show the dehumanizing conditions prevailing in hospitals. Among other things, they pointed out that the lack of sanitation facilities predisposes their patients to develop ailments. Furthermore, it is clear even for non-professionals that 30 degrees is not the ideal temperature to recuperate and heal after surgery. The latter problem could be alleviated by installing air conditioner systems that come in handy during swelteringly hot days. Indeed, there are visible signs that public healthcare facilities are underfunded by the government.

Photograph: Dániel Zách / Telex

Magyar addressed a lot of these problems that piled up over the years and offered solutions as to how to combat them. Odds are pretty much in favour of them seeing the steadily closing gap between Fidesz and the Tisza Party in recent polls.

Obstacles to overcome:

Still, they have a lot of work to do! Until the 2026 Hungarian elections, they need to take into account some decisive factors.

Legal barriers:

As of today, Fidesz is the incumbent party of Hungary, which means it has absolute power over the country. Among other things, this means that the current regime can gain an advantage over its political enemies by systemically suppressing them.

One example of doing this is changing the legal system in a way that benefits them. To exemplify, this media outlets were obligated to make their funding transparent. This means that they can no longer receive financial support outside the borders of Hungary, particularly from the US. According to Fidesz whenever media companies are subsidized, they publish articles that propagate warmongering narratives. Subsequently, they asked for the exact definition of what is considered pro-war by Fidesz without any success.

As a rule of thumb, mainly liberal papers are affected by this law. The scarcity of resources raises questions as to how to maintain media outlets. This will make it harder for them to deliver the latest news. So far so good!

Photograph: Szigetváry Zsolt / MTI

The state media:

The problem with the state media is that it is, to say the least, economical with the truth. They deliberately decontextualise information and manipulate it to their liking with the use of soundbites, and false premises to mention just a few. Unfortunately, in less-developed areas of Hungary, there is no TV channel other than the ones of the government that hinder the effective dissemination of ideas respective to the political parties concerned.

Recently, government-funded state media (M1) vilified Péter Magyar for several things including:

Back in March, the government’s main objective was to frame Magyar as a misogynistic man who abused his ex-wife, Judit Varga. However, this is rather perceived as a private family matter by most of the voters that is outside of the scope of politics.
At certain moments there were also claims that he displays egocentric and aggressive attitudes to the people surrounding him.

Later, he more or less debunked these rumours with the things he did during his campaign and for the country so far.

The only thing the state media could build on was his incident at Ötkert, for which he bears the legal consequences. On the next day, he explicitly told his followers on Facebook that he knew exactly that he made a terrible mistake and publicly apologised for disappointing his advocates.

Later, a photo was taken of him at an event with a piece of paper “Ötkert” written on it with a marker. But, as we all know, this once again showcases how an astute politician Péter Magyar really is as he managed to play this situation for his advantage in deep water. This is delicious self-irony perfectly executed.

Conclusion:

For all the aforementioned reasons elaborated above, the Tisza Party has all the ingredients of ushering in a new era and instigating social change. Personally, I am positive that it is within the realms of possibility that Magyar, and his party will eventually overthrow the governing party in the 2026 Hungarian elections. Hopefully, this is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Reference and articles for further engagement: