Peter Magyar's Movement Loses Driving Force, Tisza Party Past its Zenith

Turnout at Magyar's event is in stark contrast to the outreach achieved by the Fidesz and the Christian Democrats.

Peter Magyar, lead candidate on the Tisza Party's EP electoral list and the party's vice-president, speaks at the campaign-closing demonstration in Heroes' Square on June 8, 2024. (Photo: MTI/Szilard Koszticsak)

Not more than twenty thousand people attended the rally in Heroes' Square while Fidesz reached out to meet one million supporters on Saturday, according to Agoston Sanuel Mraz. The analyst summarized the conclusions that can be drawn from the demonstration organized by Peter Magyar, pointing out that the momentum of Magyar's Tisza Party is strongly waning, Mandiner wrote.

In reality, half of Heroes' Square was hardly filled, while left-wing media outlets reported that the square was packed  (Photo: M1)

As Magyar Nemzet reported, even though a grandiose demonstration was announced for the day before the elections, fewer sympathizers showed up than last time. There was no scramble on social media either indicating participation like in the case of similar recent events.

Only half as many people took to Facebook to promise to participate as in April, when Peter Magyar organized a protest in Kossuth Square, and a third as many as were interested in the demonstration staged by influencers in February.

Turnout at Peter Magyar's event has dropped to a fifth since April

A maximum of twenty thousand people participated in Saturday's demonstration, roughly one-fifth of the number of people who attended Peter Magyar's event in April, the head of the Nezopont Institute highlighted. In other words, he said, the message that this is a growing community has not been reinforced. Peter Magyar certainly expected more supporters when he announced the event, according to Mraz.

In response to a question, the analyst pointed out that this number is in stark contrast to the fact the party alliance of the Fidesz and the Christian Democrats (KDNP) announced one million meetings with supporters on Saturday alone, as part of their mobilization. He added: 

This show, let's say it out it, was rather feeble. Moreover, it was a mistake to organize it at such a time, the repeated cries for a doctor broke up the program and lent it an amateur character,

Agoston Samuel Mraz opined.

The event went on for a very long time, with Peter Magyar speaking for about 80 minutes. The analyst also pointed out that the whole speech was designed to attack Fidesz, and Magyar did not even address the opposition parties, although he is currently competing with them. Magyar tried to strike the strongest possible anti-government note, the paper wrote.

In conclusion Mraz noted,

Peter Magyar's movement seems to be past its zenith, there is no new momentum to drive it.  Saturday's event showed a tired team rather than a formation at its best.

Cover photo: Peter Magyar, lead candidate on the Tisza Party's EP electoral list and the party's vice-president, speaks at the campaign-closing demonstration in Heroes' Square on June 8, 2024. (Photo: MTI/Szilard Koszticsak)