Budapest, Hungary — Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians filled the streets of Budapest on Thursday in competing demonstrations in a mutual show of strength between supporters of the country's two main political movements ahead of next spring's national elections.
The rival rally was a standoff between nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his main political challenger, Péter Magyar. Magyar is likely to give the long-serving Hungarian leader the most competitive vote in his 15 years in power.
Elections are scheduled for April, but the exact voting date has not been determined.
Mr. Orbán's supporters gathered on a bridge over the Danube River on Thursday morning and began marching toward Hungary's towering neo-Gothic parliament. The rally, dubbed a “peace march” by organizers, took place on October 23, a national holiday in Hungary commemorating the failed 1956 anti-Soviet uprising that was crushed by the Red Army.
Participants shouted slogans supporting Mr. Orbán and his message that foreign powers threatened to push Hungary into direct involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine. At the head of the march, a large banner read: “We do not want to die for Ukraine.”
Prime Minister Orbán addressed the audience in a hostile speech against both Ukraine and the European Union (a regular target of anger), accusing Kiev's European supporters of trying to draw the EU into war and “bring others to death.”
Considered Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest partner within the EU, Orban has consistently opposed Western support for neighboring Ukraine since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and has maintained friendly relations with the Kremlin despite taking a combative stance toward Kiev.
The Hungarian leader also fiercely opposes Ukraine's ambitions to join the 27-nation European Union and has called for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict, but has not said what that would mean for Ukraine's territorial integrity or European security amid continued Russian aggression.
In his 40-minute speech, Prime Minister Orban said Ukraine “has lost its sovereignty and independence for a long time and is not completely self-sufficient.”
He said he supported a strategic partnership between the EU and Kiev, but said Ukraine “cannot join either a military union or an economic union. They will start wars, take our funds and destroy our economy.”
Later that day, crowds of supporters of opposition leader Magyar filled Budapest's central square and adjacent boulevards, both in anti-government protests and in a show of support for Magyar and the center-right Tisza party.
Marchers chanted “Russians go home!” along with anti-government slogans. This is a reflection of Hungary's 1956 anti-Soviet uprising and a modern reference to the view of many that President Orbán brought Hungary too close to Moscow.
Zanet Kiss, one of Tisza's supporters, joined the march from Pāpa in western Hungary. He said he believed the Magyar language could not only improve Hungary's struggling economy but also return the country to a more democratic path.
“I want to see change already happening in this country. The last 15 years have been enough, enough is enough,” she said.
Mr. Magyar, a 44-year-old lawyer and former insider in Mr. Orbán's Fidesz party, rose to political prominence in the last year and has focused his message on fundamental issues affecting the majority of Hungarians: persistent inflation, poor health care, and increasingly prominent allegations of government corruption, all sources of discontent plaguing Orbán's government.
Magyar has focused his campaign on the countryside, traditionally a reliable voting bloc for Fidesz. He recently completed an 80-day tour of the country, where he held numerous town hall-style forums, gave speeches and took questions from attendees.
Addressing a crowd of supporters filling Budapest's vast Heroes' Square, Mr. Magyar accused Mr. Orbán of misusing public funds to impoverish the country and pit Hungarians against each other.
But he also struck an inclusive tone, encouraging his supporters to embrace his political opponents after elections next April.
“I call on everyone to unite and endure these difficult six months, and I ask you to extend your hand to those gathered at another event today,” Magyar said. He encouraged the audience to imagine a future in which “next October 23, instead of two disdainful crowds facing each other, our people will be united, celebrating and smiling at each other.”
Thursday's dueling marches are seen as a barometer of which politician will devote more energy to the campaign as the election approaches. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is lagging behind Magyar Tisza in opinion polls, and with six months to go, the prime minister is struggling to revitalize his support base.
Still, the EU's longest-serving leader remains popular among a sizable segment of Hungarian voters and was able to mobilize thousands of people to Budapest on Thursday to drum up support.
A number of buses used to transport participants from Hungary and neighboring countries were parked near the pro-government march route. One of the marchers, Sander Kerekes, said he came to the event from Fantanele, a Hungarian-majority town in Romania's Transylvania region.
“It’s important for us to feel like we can meet like-minded people and think about the same things and think in unison,” he said.