The leader of the Opposition in Hungary, Péter Magyar, walked through the villages, until Romania. He listened to people and seek to win the hearts of Hungarians outside the borders, whose vote is essential for victory.
Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar and his supporters on the way to Oradea
He wears a traditional white shirt and a vest embroidered with blue flowers. In the morning, around the nine o'clock, the border between Hungary and Romania passes accompanied by several dozens of friends and supporters. At noon it finally reaches the destination: the city of Oradea in northwestern Romania. On the way, people are constantly approaching it, they want selfies or shake their hands and the drivers ring in greeting.
Later, in a speech held near the city of Oradea, he tells the hundreds of participants: “The countdown began. The Hungarians want in Europe, they are tired of dictatorship and division. They will want peace, tranquility and prosperity.”
Oradea, Saturday, May 24, 2025: the 11 -day march of the Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar ends. “A million steps for peace and unity” entitled the most recent spectacular political action, in a election campaign taken in a context of unprecedented hatred and instigation by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Government against all those with opposite opinions. Orbán accuses Magyar and his party, Tisza (respect and freedom), without any evidence, of working for Ukrainian secret services and committed betrayal. In addition, Orbán's government intends to silence critics by legislation.
A huge emotional significance
Magyar's march started on May 14, 2025 in Budapest. The politician traveled over 300 kilometers to Oradea, a city with an important Hungarian population. It was a march in which the candidate Magyar listened to the concerns and worries of the citizens in the country and who set out to be the beginning of the Orbán regime. Without appointing concrete examples, Magyar compared his march, alluding to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, with other famous events in history. Although the comparison may seem exaggerated, such a march has not taken place in Hungary so far.
The end of a Romanian city with a significant Hungarian community is carefully chosen. Hungarians with double citizenship outside the borders are not just important voters in the Hungarian parliamentary elections. They have a deep emotional significance for the Hungarian society, especially the Hungarians from Transylvania and other historical regions, such as Partium, where Oradea is located.
The trauma of the trianon
In the political mythology of Hungary, the Hungarians in Transylvania are seen as the most fierce fighters for freedom and keepers of national identity. One of the sparks of the dictatorship in Hungary in 1989-1990 were the protests against the absurdities of the Ceausescu regime, who wanted to destroy up to 7000 villages, many of whom inhabited by Hungarians. In Hungary, starting with 1988, massive protests and solidarity actions with the “brothers and sisters” took place.
For most Hungarians, the trianon trauma is deeply rooted. The treaty concluded in 1920 has established the loss of two thirds of the territory of Hungary in favor of neighboring countries, transforming much of the population into citizens of other states – overnight.
In recent years, the votes of the Hungarians outside the borders have brought only about two terms in Parliament. But whoever ignores the theme or positions against these communities cannot win elections in Hungary.
Viktor Orban supported George Simion at the presidential elections in Romania
Orbán's serious mistake
According to the polls, if the parliamentary elections were now held, Péter Magyar and his Tisza party would easily defeat Orbán's fidesz. The elections are scheduled for the spring of 2026. Magyar has gained popularity especially through the criticisms of the corruption of the Orbán system and precarious public infrastructure, including in education and health. These positions resonate with much of the society, tired of the 16 years of uninterrupted government.
Now, Magyar extends his political strategy. Pay more attention to Hungarians outside the borders. And this is emphasized by a serious political mistake of Orbán, in the context of the presidential elections in Romania, from May 18, 2025. The Hungarian prime minister expressed his support for the pro-Russian extremist George Simion, known for his violent anti-Hungarian actions. In 2019, Simion and his supporters vandalized Hungarian tombs in a Romanian-Hungarian military cemetery in the Eastern Carpathians. For the Hungarians in Transylvania, that gesture was a deep shock.
Orbán's positioning caused negative reactions including from UDMR leaders, the Romanian Hungarian formation, usually the loyal to the Budapest Prime Minister. In their turn, the Hungarians in Romania voted massively for the liberal counter -candidate Nicușor Dan, contributing to his victory.
Orbán sacrifice the interests of Hungarians abroad
Péter Magyar used this topic in his speech in Oradea, accusing Orbán of sacrificing without hesitation the interests of the Hungarians outside the borders for their own purposes of power, although even Orbán's party introduced the obligation to protect these communities in Hungary.
Orbán acts similarly in other cases: he has close relations with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and with the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, two leaders with a history of hostile policies, including the Hungarian. The campaign taken by Orbán against Ukraine's accession to the EU also contravenes the interests of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, which clearly supports the European integration.
Peter Magyar foresees the end of the Orban regime
Friends and Destroyed Families
Magyar is trying to introduce a new tone in the political discourse. It is not limited to anti-blind criticisms, but promotes positive messages, using terms like “peace”, “reconciliation”, “unit” and “cohesion”. The Hungarian society suffers visibly due to the polarized and poisoned climate maintained by the Orbán in the public space: almost every Hungarian can tell how the political quarrels have broken friends or families. Recently, Orbán founded a so-called “Fight Club”, meant to spread government propaganda among young people on the Internet. Hungary seems more and more a country in a total propaganda war.
In this context, the name of the right march “a million steps for peace and unity” is intelligently chosen. The fact that it runs hundreds of kilometers on foot to listen, even in the smallest villages, which bother people, is perceived by many as a gesture of humility and authentic interest, which they feel absent in Orbán and its power circle, rather known for the ostentatious display of luxury: expensive sports cars.
The sells marathon
It remains to be seen if Magyar's messages will convince the Hungarians outside the borders. The Orbán system has constantly supported the Hungarian communities in Transylvania with hundreds of millions of euros annually. However, last Saturday, in Oradea, it seems that most of the present were Magyar. After speech, in the video images you can see how a real selfie marathon followed: a woman offers a jam jam made in the house, another shows her a photo album. Many say I don't know him well, but that time has come for a change in Hungary.
At the press conference, Magyar constantly repeated his mantra: “This is the beginning of something new.” They might be right.
Keno Versek – DW
