Former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party has announced the creation of a nationwide legal and activist network called ‘Védvonal’ (‘Defence Line’), claiming the initiative is necessary to protect its supporters from what it describes as a ‘growing wave of political intimidation and violence’ following the party’s defeat in the 12 April election.
The initiative was announced on Friday, 22 May, by senior Fidesz MP Máté Kocsis in a lengthy social media post. According to Kocsis, the network will provide legal assistance, document alleged abuses against Fidesz supporters, and monitor what he described as potential ‘state overreach’ under the new Tisza government.
Kocsis claimed that since the 12 April election, Fidesz supporters have increasingly faced harassment, online abuse, vandalism, and public humiliation because of their political views, describing the current political climate in Hungary as one of ‘liberal terror’.
According to the announcement, the Defence Line network will provide legal aid for supporters allegedly targeted because of their political affiliation, document online and offline incidents, coordinate complaints and legal action, involve lawyers, journalists, and public figures, and potentially organize public demonstrations if deemed necessary.
‘We will document every case, file every necessary complaint, provide legal assistance, and use the power of publicity,’ Kocsis wrote.
Orbán also reacted to the initiative in a Facebook post on Friday, stating that ‘hatred and violence are spreading’, while assuring supporters that they could ‘count on’ Fidesz.
The announcement marks one of the clearest signs yet that Fidesz is attempting to reorganize itself following its historic electoral defeat, which ended Orbán’s 16-year rule and delivered a constitutional supermajority to Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party. In several messages to supporters, Orbán has repeatedly emphasized the need for renewal within the party and the remobilization of its voter base. So far, however, few concrete steps towards such reorganization have become publicly visible.
One of the central campaign promises of the Tisza Party was to restore the rule of law and hold officials linked to the successive Orbán governments of the past 16 years accountable for what Péter Magyar recently described as the ‘looting of the country’. The new prime minister has also repeatedly called on public officials—including President Tamás Sulyok—to resign because they had been appointed under previous Fidesz administrations.
Fidesz, meanwhile, accuses Tisza of acting against democratic norms under the guise of restoring the rule of law and of politically persecuting former government officials.
The dynamics bear strong similarities to developments in Poland after Donald Tusk returned to power in 2023. The Defence Line project itself resembles similar initiatives launched by politicians and activists linked to the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which accused the Tusk administration of pursuing politically motivated criminal investigations and legal pressure against former government officials. PiS-aligned media outlets and legal organizations have supported fundraising campaigns, legal defence initiatives, and public mobilization efforts for former officials facing prosecution or the threat of arrest.
Hungary under Orbán even granted political asylum to two former PiS government officials, arguing that they could not expect a fair trial in Poland under the current administration and therefore qualified as political refugees.
‘The dynamics bear strong similarities to developments in Poland after Donald Tusk returned to power in 2023’
The launch of the new initiative was met with fierce backlash from Tisza supporters and critics of Fidesz. According to them, the move represents an attempt by Fidesz to reposition itself as a persecuted political community after 16 years in power while deflecting attention from corruption allegations and controversies surrounding the former government and Orbán himself.
Critics described the rhetoric surrounding ‘liberal terror’ and ‘Tisza violence’ as an effort to construct a ‘victim narrative’ aimed at remobilizing the party’s base and deepening political polarization. Others also pointed out that Fidesz itself frequently employed highly aggressive rhetoric, legal pressure, and media campaigns against opponents while in government.
At this stage, it remains unclear how the Defence Line network will operate in practice, how it will be funded, and whether it will evolve into a formal organization.
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