Hungary pre-election showdown draws crowds amid foreign interference claims
By AFP
March 15, 2026
Orban has sought to portray opposition leader Magyar as a 'puppet' of Brussels and Kyiv - Copyright AFP Attila KISBENEDEK
Géza MOLNAR, Andras ROSTOVANYI
Huge crowds joined rival marches staged by Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and his main opponent Peter Magyar in Budapest on Sunday, as both push allegations of foreign interference just four weeks before tightly-fought elections.
Orban — who faces an unprecedented challenge to his 16-year rule — has sought to portray the opposition leader as a “puppet” of Brussels and Kyiv, while Magyar has accused the Moscow-friendly premier of seeking the Kremlin’s help to stay in power ahead of the April 12 elections.
The nationalist leader in his speech Sunday urged Ukraine to stop “attacking” the central European country.
In a heated spat, he has accused Kyiv in past weeks of blocking a key pipeline transporting Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary.
Magyar, in turn, accused Orban on Sunday of seeking to curb Hungary’s freedom by “inviting Russian agents” to “interfere in the elections”.
This follows reports by regional investigative outlet VSquare and the Financial Times of a covert Russian social media campaign to boost Orban and weaken the opposition.
Tens of thousands of people attended both rallies, according to AFP journalists on site.
– ‘ We will not be a Ukranian colony’ –
Hungarians from around the country travelled to Orban’s rally dubbed a “peace march” on the country’s national day, many using buses rented by a group close to Orban’s Fidesz party.
“There is unrest all over the world, and here in our little country we want to preserve peace, calm and security. And Viktor Orban ensures that for us,” said Sandorne Pista, 60, who came from the southern university town of Pecs.
“We will not be a Ukrainian colony,” read one of the banners carried ahead of the crowd, which later chanted “Viktor, Viktor” as the Hungarian premier took the stage in front of the parliament.
“Give us our oil, then roll your trucks over to the cash register in Brussels to collect money from the West, since they can’t say no,” Orban said in reference to the ongoing oil dispute with Kiyv.
Orban’s party has been trailing in polls since last year, and he has recently centred his campaign on attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Tensions between Zelensky and Orban reached new heights last week, when Zelensky appeared to issue a direct threat against Orban and Hungary detained and then expelled a group of Ukrainian bank employees.
Orban told supporters that either he or the Ukrainian leader will form Hungary’s next government.
Zelensky, whose country has been battling a Russian invasion since 2022, in a fresh statement Sunday accused Hungary’s government of spreading “anti-Ukrainian sentiment”.
“We are ready to work amicably (with any Hungarian leader), provided this person is not an ally of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” he said.
– ‘Russians go home’ –
Opposition supporters marched behind horsemen dressed as hussars — Hungary’s historic light cavalry formation.
Many have dismissed the government accusations against Magyar’s party.
“They’re trying to divert attention away from the scandalous state of public affairs,” Noemi Kiss, a 28-year-old communications manager, told AFP.
Amid recurring chants of “Russians go home,” Magyar promised the crowd that his party would achieve a “victory so great” that “it will be visible… even from the Kremlin.”
He also vowed that his government will bring an end to “hatred, division and fear” in public discourse.
Billboards against Zelensky have sprung up in recent weeks across Hungary, using images of the Ukrainian leader next to Magyar.
“Orban is doing everything he can to rev up the war psychosis that brought him a fourth supermajority in 2022” after Russia invaded Ukraine, Robert Laszlo, an election specialist at the think-tank Political Capital, told AFP.
'Orbán betrayed Hungarian freedom': Magyar accuses PM of inviting Russian agents to rig the vote
Opposition leader Péter Magyar called Viktor Orbán a traitor at a Budapest rally, accusing him of enlisting Russian agents to interfere in Hungary's 6 April elections, as polls show Tisza ahead of Fidesz.
Hungary's opposition leader Péter Magyar branded Prime Minister Viktor Orbán a traitor and accused him of enlisting Russian agents to interfere in the country's upcoming parliamentary elections.
Magyar delivered the remarks at a rally in central Budapest marking Hungary's national day, which commemorates the 1848 uprising against Habsburg rule, a revolt that was ultimately crushed by the Russian Empire.
Hungary goes to the polls on 12 April. Magyar's Tisza Party leads Orbán's Fidesz in most opinion polls. Fidesz has governed Hungary with an absolute parliamentary majority since 2010.
"Orbán invited the most skilled Russian agents to our country to interfere in the elections and once again rob us of our most sacred possession, Hungarian freedom, for which our ancestors gave their lives," Magyar said.
He was referring to press reports alleging that Russia has deployed a team of agents from its Budapest embassy to influence the electoral campaign in Orbán's favour. Russia has denied the allegations.
"Lies, deception and harassment, that is what they have in store for us. Viktor Orbán betrayed Hungarian freedom for thirty pieces of silver, for himself and his dynasty. Shame, shame, shame," Magyar said.
Magyar also took direct aim at Orbán's campaign narrative, in which the prime minister portrays himself as the guarantor of peace and stability while casting the opposition as willing to drag Hungary into war.
"To provoke war, to threaten war, to incite war — this is his last weapon against the Hungarians, deployed to keep himself in power," Magyar said. His Tisza Party, he added, stands firmly against any form of military involvement.
"We don't want war, we don't want war," he said.
Opposition focuses on the cost of living
Magyar also devoted a significant portion of his speech to economic issues, pledging to improve living standards and address the cost-of-living pressures facing Hungarian households.
"Viktor Orbán is a traitor who betrayed our common future. He did not build a country, but his own dominion. He did not elevate the homeland, but made it the poorest and most corrupt country in the EU," Magyar said.
He added that his future government aims to bring back EU funding earmarked for Hungary, currently frozen over concerns about corruption and the rule of law.
Magyar also promised to prioritise the repair of public services if his party wins the election.
"Citizens are entitled to the best available public healthcare, wherever they live. They are entitled not to die prematurely from preventable diseases, and not to wait years for a routine examination," Magyar said.
The opposition leader also pledged to introduce a two-term limit on the office of prime minister should Tisza come to power.
'Our sons will not die for Ukraine,' Orbán tells supporters ahead of crucial April elections
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán rallied supporters in Budapest, framing April's election as a choice between peace and war, while lashing out at Ukraine's Zelenskyy and the EU over the Druzhba pipeline dispute.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared that Hungary's upcoming parliamentary elections represent a choice between peace and war, casting his government as the guarantor of stability.
Orbán made the remarks at a rally in central Budapest marking Hungary's national day, which commemorates the country's 1848 revolution against Habsburg rule.
Hungary goes to the polls on the 12th of April in a vote widely regarded as the most serious challenge to Orbán's grip on power since he took office in 2010.
Péter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza Party, is currently ahead of Orbán's Fidesz in opinion polls.
Orbán said Brussels and Kyiv seek to unseat him
Orbán also accused Ukraine of interfering in the electoral campaign, alleging that Kyiv was siding with the opposition and the European Union in an effort to unseat him.
Budapest and Kyiv are locked in a bitter dispute over the shutdown of the Druzhba pipeline, which carries discounted Russian oil to Hungary via Ukraine. Budapest has blocked the EU's €50 billion loan package to Ukraine until the pipeline is restored.
The row has also taken on a personal dimension, with sharp exchanges between Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Do you see this, Ukrainians? Do you see this, Zelenskyy? This is the thousand-year-old Hungarian state. And you think you can scare us with an oil blockade, blackmail and threats against our leaders? Be smart and stop this," Orbán said.
Campaign overshadowed by diplomatic spat with Ukraine
Last week, Zelenskyy said he would allow his troops to phone a European leader who was blocking EU aid to Ukraine, a statement the Hungarian government condemned as a direct threat to Orbán.
"Don't you have enough trouble on the eastern front? Why did you attack us? We are a peace-loving people. Give us our oil, and then roll your vans to Brussels for Westerners' money," Orbán said, in an apparent reference to the seizure of two Ukrainian cash-transport vehicles near Budapest a fortnight ago.
Hungary raided two Ukrainian vehicles from Ukraine's Oschadbank, and confiscated $40m, €35m, and 9kg of gold in a money laundering probe. Ukraine said the transport was legal and accused Hungary of state terrorism. The incident triggered a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
Orbán frames elections as choice between peace and war
Framing the vote as existential, Orbán portrayed the upcoming elections as a stark choice between peace and war. He frequently depicts the European Union as a pro-war bloc that is escalating the conflict in Ukraine through financial support and talk of deploying ground troops.
"It is time for Kyiv and Brussels to understand that our sons will not die for Ukraine, they will live for Hungary," Orbán said.
"We must choose who should form a government, me or Zelenskyy? I offer myself, with due modesty," he added.
Orbán also alleged that both Ukraine and the EU have a vested interest in a change of government in Hungary, and called on his Fidesz party to outperform its result from four years ago, setting a target of at least three million votes.
