The leader of the Hungarian opposition outlined the future of Hungary. “We can be like Poland”
— The upcoming elections will be about whether Hungarians can consolidate their position as a European nation and revive their stagnant economy with key EU funds, or whether they will drift east into the authoritarian camp, Tisza's leader told the agency.
What will be the key elections in Hungary?
When will the parliamentary elections be held in Hungary?
How much EU funding has been frozen for Hungary?
What relations does Magyar want to build with the USA?
Peter Magyar, currently on an election tour around the country, in the conversation he criticized Prime Minister Orban's relations with Russia and the former Soviet republics, and his decision to grant Hungary observer status in the Organization of Turkic States.
Magyar: voters will decide in April whether we will follow the path of development like Poles
“It will be a choice between Europe and the Organization of Turkic States and dictators,” he said. — The question is whether Hungary will continue these 16 years of decline or whether we will move towards Europe and development, joining Poles, Slovenians, Czechs and the Baltic states – he added.
Tisza's leader assured that if he won the elections his government will reach an agreement with Brussels on the release of funds suspended from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) by Orban's rule of law reforms, as well as from the Cohesion Fund to finance infrastructure.
— I really hope that we will be able to sign the agreement quickly and after the preliminary agreement, perhaps even before the adoption of the act, they will be able to start disbursing the funds, he said.
Hungary has had a total of around €17 billion of EU funds frozen due to failure to respect the rule of law. Most of them come from the RRF program, under which Hungary has almost EUR 11 billion at its disposal.
Magyar also announced that his government will strive for “constructive and friendly” relations with the United States. — Europe is in a very difficult economic, social and political situation, which is why we must cooperate with the Trump administration and I will strive for this cooperation, he noted.
The current Prime Minister of Hungary with the support of Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump supported Orban before the elections, calling him a “strong leader”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated during his February visit to Budapest that U.S. relations with Hungary had entered a “golden era” during Orban's rule.
Parliamentary elections in Hungary will be held on April 12. Independent polls give the opposition TISZA party an average of several to a dozen or so percentage points advantage over Orban's Fidesz party. In a study by the Median center published on Wednesday, 55 percent decisive voters declared support for Tisza, and 35 percent for Fidesz.
