Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar has called on rivals in the anti-government camp to refrain from participating in this year's parliamentary elections to focus efforts on changing power and removing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party. Bloomberg reports this, writes UNN.
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Magyar, whose Tisza party holds a lead over Orbán's long-ruling Fidesz in several polls, offered smaller opposition parties to participate in electoral reforms after the April 12 vote if he comes to power.
We know that not all voters fully agree with Tisza's policies and that after the restoration of pluralistic democracy, parties representing different ideologies are needed. But parties that risk splitting the opposition vote ultimately "want to keep Viktor Orbán in power."
According to a Zavecz Research poll published on Monday, Tisza is 10 percentage points ahead of Orbán's Fidesz among decided voters. Tisza believes it needs to win by at least 5 points to unseat Orbán, given the redrawing of electoral districts, which experts believe will favor Fidesz.
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A former member of Orbán's administration, Magyar founded Tisza less than two years ago, capitalizing on voter dissatisfaction over the cost of living crisis, corruption, and mismanagement. Since then, he has largely consolidated opposition support, including disillusioned former Fidesz voters, like himself.
While some opposition groups, such as the liberal Momentum, have chosen not to participate in the April elections to clear the way for Tisza, other parties that have previously unsuccessfully challenged Orbán remain in the race.
One such party, DK, has 4% support, while MKKP, which emerged as a parody organization and previously promised free beer if it won, has 3% support, according to Zavecz. Both parties are polling below 5% – the threshold required to enter parliament.
MKKP will remain in the election race but will call on its voters to support Tisza in districts where the main fight will be between Tisza and Fidesz candidates, the news website HVG reported, citing party director Dávid Nagy. Most Hungarians can cast two votes – one for a parliamentary candidate and one for a party list.
The only other small party with noticeable support is the far-right Mi Hazánk, which is considered a possible coalition partner for Fidesz. According to the Zavecz poll, Mi Hazánk scored 5%, with a margin of error of 3.2% in the study conducted from January 19 to 24.