Peter Magyar is reinvigorating Hungary’s struggling opposition
Attacking Viktor Orban’s corruption wins votes for a political newcomer
VIKTOR ORBAN, Hungary’s right-wing populist prime minister, spent the first week of July on what he called a “peace mission” to Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Washington, angering the rest of the EU by undercutting its diplomacy. Back at home, a 43-year-old lawyer named Peter Magyar was trying to poach Mr Orban’s voters. Mr Magyar entered politics early this year by revealing evidence (from conversations with his ex-wife, Mr Orban’s former justice minister) of alleged high-level corruption. In April he launched a new political party, Tisza. On June 9th the upstarts won an extraordinary 30% of the vote in the country’s European Parliament election; Mr Orban’s long-ruling Fidesz party took 45%.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “A newbie takes on Viktor Orban”
Europe July 27th 2024
- The Germany-shaped void at Europe’s heart
- Vadym Sukharevsky, the man in charge of Ukraine’s drones
- Italian right-wingers have renamed Milan’s airport after Silvio Berlusconi
- European countries are banding together on missile defence
- Peter Magyar is reinvigorating Hungary’s struggling opposition
- To understand the perils of AI, look to a Czech novel—from 1936
More from Europe
Will a new “pact” of ten laws help Europe ease its migrant woes?
It will require an extraordinary number of institutions to work together
Amid the bombs, Ukrainians rediscover the beach
Odessa gives itself permission to tan again
Who was behind the arson attacks on railways before the Olympics?
With thousands stranded, suspicion falls on Russia or Iran
Italian right-wingers have renamed Milan’s airport after Silvio Berlusconi
A finger in the eye of those who detested the late populist leader
European countries are banding together on missile defence
The Ukraine war shows how dangerously few interceptors they have
To understand the perils of AI, look to a Czech novel—from 1936
“War with the Newts” offers a satirical allegory of life under the spell of machines