(Bloomberg) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban faced a tense standoff with the opposition on Wednesday, with opinion polls showing rival Piotr Magyar’s upstart party in the lead for the first time.
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The prime minister launched familiar anti-European Union rhetoric on the anniversary of the failed anti-Soviet uprising inside a gated park in central Buda. Hours later, Mr. Magyar led thousands of protesters into the streets and gave an impassioned speech outlining his platform.
The duel comes after the Partisan news website published a 21 Research Center survey that showed Tisa, a Magyar man, pulling away from Orbán’s Fidesz after a close race in recent opinion polls. It was received and carried out. It was the first time Fidesz lost its lead since Mr Orbán returned to power in 2010, but Mr Tisza’s lead remained within the margin of error.
On Wednesday, the forint fell to its lowest value against the euro since early last year, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s unconventional policy to boost the economy ahead of 2026 elections exposed Hungary to market volatility.
In his speech, Orbán sought to portray the new rebels as subservient to Brussels, just as Hungary was ruled by communists loyal to Moscow before the 1956 uprising. . Mr. Magyar, a former Orbán government insider, has promised to bring Hungary back into the European mainstream, but has sought to strike a similar patriotic tone to Mr. Orbán on some issues.
The prime minister had to tread carefully after last month’s gaffes by aides about the events of 1956 caused an uproar. Balázs Orbán, an unrelated adviser to the prime minister, argued that if Hungary had been in Ukraine’s position, it would have surrendered to invading Russian forces, drawing parallels with the 1956 suppression of the Hungarian uprising.
lost trust
The comments were politically charged given that Orbán, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the EU, is blocking EU efforts to increase aid to Kiev. .
Magyar first gathered supporters outside the Foreign Ministry, whose head, Piotr Szijjarto, continued to visit Russia and Belarus after the invasion of Ukraine.
After leading the march, he laid out plans to build campaigns and programs for the 2026 vote, with a focus on filling gaps in education, health care and the economy.
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