Mate Kocsis: Peter Magyar at the Helm Would Bring Back SZDSZ Era + Video

Gabor Horn is exactly as much an independent analyst as Telex and 444 are independent media, said Fidesz parliamentary group leader Mate Kocsis on the Fighters' Hour podcast. He also noted that Peter Magyar is a product of the SZDSZ-era (Alliance of Free Democrats), and would bring that world back to Hungary.

MP Mate Kocsis, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, was Balazs Nemeth's guest on the Fighters' Hour podcast (Source: Facebook/Mate Kocsis)

Mate Kocsis, Fidesz parliamentary group leader was the guest on today's Fighters' Hour. At the top of the podcast, they discussed a humorous photo depicting Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a superhero.

Viktor Orban had originally posed for that picture at the founding session of the Zebra Tisza Island,

Kocsis joked. He added that while they can laugh at such a “gag”, Peter Magyar actually calls himself “The Man” in real life – and takes it seriously.

With Peter Magyar, SZDSZ Conditions Would Return

A segment of the show featured Gabor Horn, head of the Republikon Institute, stating on ATV that Hungary's ruling Fidesz party is in trouble. Kocsis dismissed Horn as a failed Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) politician, “of the worst kind,” which “says everything.” 

The path he’s taken since is even more 'impressive',

the Fidesz politician added sarcastically, noting that Horn had made quite a few blunders, such as writing in November 2021 that the opposition alliance was leading Fidesz in the polls. Kocsis said Magyar hails from the SZDSZ sphere and was never a true conservative. “With Peter Magyar, the Gabor Horn types would return.”

In response to Horn’s comment that “the only visible person left in Fidesz is Viktor Orban,” Kocsis said Horn is just happy to be invited on any show. “Every party should have its own failed Gabor Horn,” he added.

He says the Tisza Party is clearly well-organized, then two sentences later says they don’t even have candidates. This won’t earn him any praise from Tisza,

Kocsis mocked. “Poor Gabor Horn tries so enthusiastically to explain Tisza’s dominance to ATV viewers, then contradicts himself. These so-called analysts still carry the arrogance of the SZDSZ era.” He proudly noted being part of “the lucky generations who got to 'attend the funeral' of SZDSZ,” but warned that the problems didn’t die with the dissolution of the party – “they’re still here, handing out advice.” Kocsis noted Horn was once a state secretary in the MSZP–SZDSZ coalition government, and, for added irony, said Horn’s father was a classmate of George Soros. “That’s how small this country is — everyone knows everyone.”

Kocsis warned viewers:

not to be fooled by Horn’s claim to be an “independent analyst.” “He’s just as independent as the folks at Telex and 444 — which is to say, not at all. They’re biased, committed liberal radicals. The problem is they deny this and pretend otherwise. He is a former liberal politician and will deep down remain one,

Kocsis stated.

Peter Magyar Idolized Demszky

The show also highlighted that Magyar once revealed, that as a teenager, he had a poster of ex-Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky (SZDSZ) on his wall.

Just imagine the teenager who puts a Demszky poster on his wall,

the politician scoffed.

According to Kocsis, the right-wing camp has stayed united, while Tisza has wiped out the left-wing parties. Only the Democratic Coalition (DK) remains standing. He said Tisza wrongly believes that candidates who have previously won in Budapest districts would now only get 1–2% support.

Regarding candidate debates, Kocsis said Viktor Orban should only engage with opponents who are his real counterparts – such as Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber.

Silencing Tisza Candidates

He also claimed that members of the Tisza Party are only those whom Magyar can control. He mentioned Tisza Party MEP and health expert Andras Kulja canceled his appearance at MCC Feszt, likely due to being “burned” in a previous debate on ATV with Health State Secretary Peter Takacs. Another Tisza MEP, Zoltan Tarr, was invited to do a debate at Tusvanyos but didn’t show up.

“We once tried to make a statement on Tisza propaganda media,” Kocsis said. “But I don’t like double standards. I’ll speak when Tisza politicians also answer our questions — including Peter Magyar and MEP Gabriella Gerzsenyi, who refused to speak to journalists.”

Peter Magyar Is Far from Right-Wing

Kocsis reiterated that Magyar is definitely not a right-wing politician. 

He comes from an SZDSZ family. I know Peter Magyar. His supporters are left-wing capitalists, leftist politicians, leftist propagandists. He himself admitted he's a liberal,

Kocsis responded to a chat comment arriving during the podcast. 

In response to a comment about the investigation into the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), Kocsis said he too is awaiting the outcome. “There’s a problem, and an investigation will uncover it. But the left is riding this issue and building a campaign around it. The numbers cited in left-wing media never appeared in the State Audit Office’s (ASZ) report, he said stressing it's not for politics to decide justice.

They took a number from the ASZ report and multiplied it by five. As I am not intimately familiar with this case, I join those of you who are waiting for the results of the investigation and the inquiries.

He added that the left-wing claims about Hungary’s gold reserves disappearing are false — “In fact, they’ve grown tenfold.”

Fake News and Liberal Media Bias

They discussed a false report by 444's Balazs Kaufmann claiming the NAV (tax authority) chief was detained. In fact, it was a former chief, and he wasn’t detained. “They obviously didn't have enough scandalous news stories that day,” Kocsis commented.

"When RTL contacts us and they don't like our answer, then they say on the news that they Fidesz was contacted, but didn't respond in any meaningful way."

Another fake news claim was that on August 20 the fireworks for our National Holiday would cost 14.5 billion forints. Kocsis clarified that this is the cost of the entire Saint Stephen’s Day program, which spans multiple days and locations nationwide. “I won’t tolerate pettiness toward our nation and our history,” the politician said

Magyar vs. Hadhazy: Competing for Likes

The episode also touched on MP Akos Hadhazy’s latest stunt at the Hatvanpuszta estate, where he claimed Orban’s people slashed his tires. “Do I have a single colleague who believes Orban’s people are going around slashing tires?” Kocsis asked, adding that Magyar and Hadhazy are in competition with each other for gaining more likes.”

Regarding Magyar’s speech on domestic violence at a child protection conference Tisza organized, Kocsis said:

Peter Magyar is a chilling, cold-blooded liar. Judit is right — he’s horrifically narcissistic.

Host Balazs Nemeth added that it’s unforgivable for liberal media to stand “at all costs” in support of someone accused of domestic abuse 

When asked by a commenter whether supporting Fidesz is embarrassing, Kocsis replied, “It’s much more embarrassing to support a political movement whose leader spied on and made secret recordings of his wife, faked a suicide attempt and then hid in the garden when the ambulance arrived.”

What’s not embarrassing is that our political community has implemented every good policy that can be introduced in Europe,

he stated.

Mate Kocsis said people always repeat three claims before every election: that Fidesz is afraid, the opposition is ahead, and young people don’t support the government. He recalled his own youth during a time when Hungary had no conservative, patriotic government:

There were no free textbooks, no subsidized driver’s licenses, no housing assistance, no advantageous loans or subsidies for those starting families. What we did have was foreign currency loans.

He added that he hopes today’s youth never have to live under a government of the opposite kind. He praised the government’s countless support programs for families, housing and job programs.

In response to the issue of Peter Magyar wanting to define who can be considered a real journalist, Kocsis claimed that this attitude actually originated not from Magyar but from liberal journalists. “The communist and liberal media elites have always reserved the right to decide who is a journalist.”

He added: “Magyar learned this from the SZDSZ – that the Gabor Horn types get to decide who counts and who doesn’t.”

Kocsis concluded by mocking a viral video showing Zambians dancing to an image of Peter Magyar and the appearance of paid South Americans pushing 'likes' on the Tisza Party chief's social media page. “Turns out the Tisza isn’t just flooding Africa — it’s reaching Medellin and Caracas, too,” he quipped, referring to paid online promotional trends.

Balazs Nemeth, spokesperson for the senior governing party, has launched a new podcast. The very first guest on Monday was Prime Minister Viktor Orban, followed by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto on Tuesday. News, information, opinions, press reviews — 60 minutes every day from Monday to Thursday, and all of it live — this is how host Balazs Nemeth described his show.

Cover photo: MP Mate Kocsis, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, was Balazs Nemeth's guest on the Fighters' Hour podcast (Source: Facebook/Mate Kocsis)