The rival of Viktor Orban addresses a sensitive subject. The Budapest government responds with a controversial approach
Peter Magyar, the leader of the Hungarian opposition. Photo source: Balint Szentgallay / Nurphoto / Shut / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The rival of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Peter Magyar, presented in Budapest on Sunday, in front of thousands of people, the results of a great consultation, one of the stakes being the issue of Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU), AFP reports.
The subject is very sensitive in this neighboring country with Ukraine, with the approach of the parliamentary elections in the spring of 2026.
The initiative of Magyar, called the “Voice of the Nation”, was launched on March 24 and on the ground, himself going to meet the voters “in every corner of the country,” he said, addressing a world full of the world.
About 12,000 volunteers crossed the rural area, sometimes victims of the violent attacks of Orban's supporters, according to videos distributed on the Internet.
Over 1.1 million citizens in this country of 9.6 million inhabitants have answered a total of 13 questions about taxes, pensions, but also international topics.
The subject dividing society into Hungary
In front of a government that regularly attacks Brussels, 98% supported Hungary's belonging to the EU, while 58% said they were in favor of Ukraine's accession, in the context in which negotiations were officially launched in June 2024.
“The results show that the subject divides the society and will therefore be subject to a legal referendum when we come to power,” Magyar said, while promising Hungary will again become “a proud and reliable NATO ally and a full member of the EU.”
Former 44 -year -old public official, who became a virulent critic, hopes to end next year to Orban's government, which gradually reduced the balance of powers from his return to the Hungarian Executive in 2010.
Magyar's Tisza formation is an unprecedented challenge for the Fidesz party, whose solid advance has disappeared, according to several polls.
The prime minister responded by tune, especially against Ukraine, whose belonging to the EU, in his opinion, would “ruin” the community block.
The government intends to send a voting bulletin next week to ask Hungarians to vote for Pro or Cons, a method without a legal effect that it has used since 2015 to legitimize its anti-EU positions.
In the explanatory document, he launches several threats without any evidence: “the loss of European funds for our country, which would be paid entirely to Ukraine”, “the massive arrival of the cheap Ukrainian labor” to the detriment of the Hungarians or the appearance of the Ukrainian organized criminal networks and even the epidemic due to the lack of vaccination.
