April 10, 2026, 12:56 p.mApril 10, 2026, 12:56 p.m
Two days before the landmark parliamentary election in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused the opposition, led by Peter Magyar, that it would start unrest in the event of a defeat.
Viktor Orban claims his opponents are cooperating with foreign agents.Image: keystone
“Our opponents will stop at nothing,” he said in a video message “to all Hungarians,” which he posted on his Facebook page.
“They cooperate with foreign secret services. (…) Even now, before your votes have even been counted, they are organizing protests and unrest,” he continued. “This is an organized attempt to cast doubt on the decision of the Hungarian people through chaos, pressure and international defamation.”
Orban did not provide any evidence of the alleged preparation of unrest. In addition, Magyar’s bourgeois Tisza party is well ahead of Orban’s Fidesz party in the surveys of all reputable institutes. Magyar has promised a break with Orban’s semi-authoritarian system of government on the occasion of Sunday’s election. The challenger himself comes from within the Orban party, but broke away from it a little over two years ago.
Peter Magyar, candidate of the Tisza party.Image: keystone
In his 16 years in power, Orban has leaned heavily on Russia under President Vladimir Putin. In the European Union, of which Hungary has been a member since 2004, he used his veto to block aid for Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia. He reportedly coordinated his destructive moves in the EU with Moscow.
Expert: Taking over Russian fake news
Hungarian security expert and former intelligence officer Peter Buda pointed out in a Substack post that the false claim that the opposition was preparing unrest together with Ukraine had been spread by relevant Russian social media channels for some time.
Fake videos are produced that show alleged Ukrainian soldiers preparing for an alleged intervention in Hungary, Buda wrote. By adopting these conspiracy stories, the Orban government aims to “prepare the population for a violent provocation” in order to then falsely attribute its authorship to the opposition.
Magyar: Orban should accept being voted out “with dignity”.
Magyar responded immediately to Orban’s message. In his Facebook video, he called on Hungarians not to engage in provocations and to maintain their peacefulness. Orban will be voted out on Sunday by millions of Hungarians who helped him gain government power in previous elections and whom he “abandoned and betrayed.” “We ask the outgoing Prime Minister to accept the verdict of the Hungarian people with due sobriety and dignity,” he added. (dab/sda/dpa)
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