PM Orban Sets the Course for 2026

The topics addressed by Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban point to a clear direction—and a clear choice—heading into the 2026 elections, Miklos Szantho said in his assessment of the PM's speech to a packed auditorium in Kecskemet. Meanwhile, opposition Tisza Party chief Peter Magyar followed the prime minister to Kecskemet as well, but only a few hundred people showed up to his event. Based on what he saw, analyst Daniel Deak says it is no surprise that recent polls show rising support for Mr Orban and Fidesz, with 15 percent more voters now considering him better suited to lead the country than Peter Magyar.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the DPK nation-wide tour (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki)

According to the prime minister, Europe has deliberately placed itself on a pro-war trajectory, building a wartime economy, with the process already on the brink of escalation, and bringing the war much closer to us than many would think. Under these circumstances, Hungary can only stay out of the conflict if it has responsible leadership. PM Orban described the 2026 election as the last moment to make a choice before the war: whether Hungary can stay out of the conflict will depend on whether voters choose a government committed to peace—or one that drifts along with external expectations, Miklos Szantho summarized in a Facebook post.

Photo: Prime Minister's Office Communications Department/Zoltan Fischer/MTI

Szantho, head of the Center for Fundamental Rights, noted that the prime minister focused on three major themes: the war, economic policy, and the United States’ new national security strategy. Together, these clearly outline what is at stake in the upcoming elections.

What’s at Stake in 2026

Viktor Orban stressed that the conflict is closer than many assume, and Hungary can only remain outside of it with responsible, sober leadership. As he put it:

“The 2026 election is the last decision point before the war. Whether we can stay out depends on whether Hungary chooses a government that adheres to a pro-peace policy—or one that caves to outside pressure.”

Szantho emphasized that the prime minister made it clear: foolish or unprepared leadership is a burden even in peacetime, but in a wartime environment it can be fatal.

PM Orban drew a sharp distinction between left-wing and right-wing economic thinking:

• the left believes in expanding the state and raising taxes as the solution,
• while the right believes in leaving resources with the people and keeping government intervention to a minimum.

According to the think tank director, the prime minister placed the Tisza Party’s program squarely within that historical pattern—one that always ends the same way:

In the end, it inevitably means tax hikes.”

A third theme was the United States’ new national security strategy. As Szantho summarized, the prime minister highlighted Washington’s conclusion that:

if current European trends continue, the continent would become unrecognizable within twenty years—and America may not be able to rely on Europe as a stable ally.

This, PM Orban argued, vindicates Hungary’s foreign policy position: Hungary must remain independent and cannot rely blindly on external actors for stability.

New Topics Every Week

Analyst Daniel Deak noted that although the antiwar rallies of the Digital Civic Circles (DPK) follow a similar structure each week, they are far from repetitive. New moderators sit opposite the prime minister at each event, and new topics surface in the Q&A every time. 

Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Jeno Csiszar at the anti-war rally in Kecskemet organized by the Digital Civic Circles (DPK) (Photo: Prime Minister's Office Communications Department/Zoltan Fischer)

This time, for example, a question from Klara Dobrev DK party president was read aloud—prompting what Deak described as a sharp and powerful response from the prime minister. 

Ordinary opposition commenters’ questions were also included, and Orban responded with comprehensive, detailed explanations.

Deak added that Orban appeared calm, focused, and energetic—“a leader who knows exactly what he wants,” looking ahead to where the ball will be, rather than reacting to where it is currently, confidently knowing what the next move will be.

He emphasized that Orban is able to bring seemingly distant matters—like a war or diplomatic talks in Washington or Moscow—down to the level of everyday life, 

and clearly explains how their outcomes matter and how they affect every Hungarian.

Given all this, Deak said, it is no surprise that the latest polling shows growing support for Viktor Orban and Fidesz with a margin of 15 percent considering him more suitable to lead Hungary than Peter Magyar, noted the analyst from the XXI Century Institute.

Peter Magyar’s Rough Day

Daniel Deak also posted a drone photo taken at 2:32 pm, noting that Magyar had already been on stage for some time.

Again Peter Magyar followed Viktor Orban—this time to Kecskemet. But while the prime minister filled a sports arena, only a few hundred people showed up for Magyar’s event. As at the previous event in Nyiregyhaza, embarrassingly few - at most a few hundred people were interested in the Tisza Party's event,

the analyst wrote. He added that the Tisza Party leader's popularity has not benefited from the recent leak of his party’s left-wing austerity package.

Journalist Daniel Bohar urged readers to compare crowd sizes, pointing out that the lower photo was taken when Peter Magyar was already speaking.
(Photo: Daniel Bohar's Facebook page)

“Peter Magyar hasn’t had a good few weeks. After the Tisza package leaked—revealing their brutal austerity plans—his events have less pull and his support is slipping, even according to left-leaning pollsters, while Fidesz is strengthening,” Deak noted.

Bohar likewise commented on Facebook also sharing the drone photo:

“Week after week, Peter Magyar trudges along behind Viktor Orban. And the gap keeps getting bigger.”

He argued that Magyar’s strategy is not working, and that the Tisza Party’s support is weakening steadily.

At the Kecskemet small market, Bohar wrote, Magyar Peter’s expression “said it all.”(Photo: Attila Polyak)

The Tisza’s copycat tour has flopped badly. Kecskemet is their biggest failure yet,

the journalist remarked.

Voters, Bohar added, are not responding well to tax-hike plans:

It’s simple. If you want to raise taxes, your support is going to shrink.

Cover photo: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the DPK nation-wide tour (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki)