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Tisza Supporters Whipping Up Sentiment Against Ethnic Hungarian Communities

Outraged comments flooded a post by the Tisza Party in which Peter Magyar sought to demonstrate his support for ethnic Hungarians living beyond Hungary’s borders.

2026. 04. 22. 15:08

Peter Magyar, president of the Tisza Party (Photo: MTI/Robert Hegedus)

“We will support Hungarians living beyond the borders in every way,” Peter Magyar promised in a video by the Tisza Party. At his international press conference, the party leader spoke at length about how important ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries are to him. While criticizing Fidesz and the Christian Democrats (KDNP), he insisted that his party would maintain the institution of dual citizenship and would not strip them of their voting rights.

However, Tisza’s own voters appeared far from being delighted, and tempers quickly flared in the comments. “Why should we financially support Hungarians in neighboring countries?

By that logic, we could just as well be filling the pockets of the 5–6 million Hungarians living anywhere in the world.

They can keep their Hungarian citizenship, but no voting rights and no financial support. Full moral support is fine. If they want more, they can move to Hungary, work here, and pay taxes…” one commenter wrote. Another added that there should be a referendum on whether they should have voting rights at all.

Someone else revived a familiar left-wing talking point, arguing that Hungarian taxpayers’ money should not be used to support them. “What have they given us? Nothing, just 16 years of Fidesz, while my child gets 12,000 forints, great,” the commenter complained.

These reactions are hardly surprising given that a significant portion of Tisza’s base consists of left-wing sympathizers disillusioned with previous opposition parties. Judging by these comments, they see no issue with whipping up sentiment against ethnic Hungarians. It is also worth recalling that Peter Magyar himself has repeatedly offended these communities: he referred to Transylvania and Oradea as “Romanian land,” barred local journalists from his small event in Transylvania, and labeled the organization representing the Transylvanian Hungarians a “spy party.” The impact of this was also evident in the election results: Fidesz received 87 percent of the mail-in votes from Hungarians living in neighboring countries.