The leaders of Hungary’s two biggest parties made their closing appeals to voters on Saturday, aiming to sway undecided support ahead of Sunday’s election after a turbulent campaign. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ended his campaign on Budapest’s Castle Hill, while Péter Magyar, the challenger from the Tisza party, wrapped up in Debrecen, a city described as traditionally a Fidesz stronghold.
Orbán is facing what the campaign season has presented as the biggest political test of his career, with Magyar’s Tisza party charted as a meteoric rise that has led by double digits in many independent polls. Even so, the race’s final stretch has also included expectations among observers that the outcome may prove tighter than some polling suggests, particularly if Orbán’s Fidesz organization can mobilize its base in rural areas.
At University Square in Debrecen, Magyar told thousands of supporters that the election would “enter Hungarian history books as the day of resurrection, the renewal of the Hungarian nation, and of the real change of regime.” He also urged reconciliation after the vote, saying his side would begin the “reunification” of Hungary following election day and called it a “national reconciliation,” adding, “As the winner of the election, we will have to extend a hand to our fellow countrymen.”
Orbán, by contrast, has centered his closing pitch on external threats, particularly the war in neighboring Ukraine. Speaking to supporters at his Castle Hill rally, he told them “we are in an age of danger,” and said, “Hungary is facing serious challenges,” arguing that Hungarians needed to “say no to major power groups in the world in order to defend ourselves,” which he said required “knowledge, experience and routine.” He added: “Now is not the time to take risks, to change, to renew and to adventure. Now we need to protect and secure what we have.”
The campaign background has also fed into the closings. Orbán’s bid has been under pressure from what has been described as Hungary’s poor economic performance, as well as revelations involving the government’s close connections to Russia and corruption allegations. Orbán, according to the campaign reporting, has denied those allegations and sought to improve his standing with voters by emphasizing his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly endorsed him.
Trump’s involvement has extended beyond statements, with Vice President JD Vance making a two-day visit to Budapest earlier in the week and appearing at a taxpayer-funded campaign rally alongside Orbán, according to the reporting. Magyar’s campaign, meanwhile, has emphasized issues that affect ordinary Hungarians, including inflation, costs of living, and what he has described as the deteriorating state of public health care and transportation.
Magyar has also framed his challenge around governance and foreign-policy direction, speaking about what he describes as endemic governmental corruption that enriches a narrow segment of political elites, charges Orbán denies. He has also promised to reverse what he calls Orbán’s drift away from the European Union, favoring ever closer ties with Moscow.
At Debrecen’s rally, supporters waved national flags and chanted “Európa! Európa!” While making the closing case for his party, Magyar said “many millions” of voters would show on Sunday that “Hungary’s place was, is, and will be in Europe.”
The campaign’s final days also reflected how both sides have tried to reach beyond major cities. Magyar has toured Hungary relentlessly for two years, visiting hundreds of cities, towns and villages in an effort to win back some of Orbán’s rural support. Earlier, he visited smaller communities in eastern Hungary, including Balmazújváros, a town of around 17,000 residents.
One local Tisza activist, farmer Annamária Matkovics, said she joined Magyar’s party when it was first launched in 2024. Matkovics, 50, said that even in a region she described as historically a Fidesz stronghold, she believes Tisza has given people the courage to express dissent, even if it could come with consequences. “When we’re campaigning on the street, people tell us that they’re worried that they’ll lose their jobs if they don’t vote for Fidesz, and they’re still planning to vote for Tisza,” she said. “They’ve had enough of the division.”
Sources note: Iván L. Nagy contributed to the reporting.