MEP Péter Magyar, prime ministerial candidate for the challenging Tisza Party, has given an exclusive interview to the international non-profit news agency Associated Press (AP). The topic was evident: the upcoming Hungarian parliamentary election, just a little over a week away from today.
The interview was conducted after a Tisza campaign rally in Kiskunhalas, Hungary. In it, Magyar stated that the election will be a ‘referendum on our country’s place in the world;’ and tried to position himself as the pro-EU, pro-Western candidate, while painting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as the pro-Russian, pro-Eastern candidate.
In fact, the author of the article himself described PM Orbán as the ‘pro-Russian Prime Minister’ in the very first paragraph. ‘Hungarians still see that Hungary’s peace and development are guaranteed by membership of the European Union and NATO,’ Magyar told the AP.
He later went on to give a bold election prediction as well, saying ‘I think that Tisza will have an overwhelming electoral victory, because even Fidesz voters do not want our country to be a Russian puppet state, a colony, an assembly plant, instead of belonging to Europe’.
The fact that Tisza has refused to run a candidate in any of the by-elections since the European Parliamentary election in June 2024, an election they lost to Fidesz by over 15 points nationally, suggests otherwise. However, there were multiple polls released recently that show Tisza leading by landslide margins in the upcoming election.
🇭🇺 Le challenger d’Orbán, Magyar, affirme que l’élection est un « référendum » sur la place de la Hongrie dans le monde
— richert (@henririchert) April 3, 2026
Exclusive: Orbán challenger Magyar says election is a ‘referendum’ on Hungary’s place in the world https://t.co/e8y65Jd3wK
The piece recounts Magyar’s rise to prominence, going from an insider in the Fidesz-aligned business circle, married to Former Minister of Justice Judit Varga, to a harsh critic and challenger to PM Orbán. There, they make a minor factual error: they claim he ‘founded’ the Tisza Party in 2024, when in fact he took over a dormant political party originally founded in 2022.
More telling than the minor error is the omission they make about Magyar. After briefly mentioning his former marriage to Minister Varga, they leave out that she had publicly accused him of domestic violence, an accusation that was later echoed by his ex-girlfriend Evelin Vogel, whom Magyar dated after his divorce from Varga. A right-wing political figure almost certainly would not have the courtesy of such omission, and the author would most likely talk about the accusation’s effect on female voters.
Péter Magyar Discusses Russian Energy Import with the Associated Press
The continuing import of Russian oil and gas is one of the main points of contention between Brussels and Budapest. However, despite aligning himself with the EU against Moscow in this interview, Magyar pledges ‘pragmatism’ to the Hungarian voters on the issue. He is aware that detaching from Russian energy imports would mean catastrophic economic consequences for Hungary.
‘This does not mean that we must stop using Russian oil tomorrow. It means that the European Union’s resources must be used well,’ Magyar told the Associated Press.
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