Mass rallies held by Hungary’s two leading political blocs are widely seen as a measure of their capacity to rally voters ahead of the April 12 elections.
Hungary’s two leading political blocs, Fidesz and the Tisza Party, held mass rallies on March 15 in a prominent display of power, widely seen as a measure of their capacity to rally voters ahead of the April 12 elections. Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed to keep Hungary "an island of security and calm in a turbulent world," while his challenger Peter Magyar described Hungary’s veteran leader as "a man of the past" who stoked fear and division among the people, stressing that Hungary’s place is in the West.
The March 15 national holiday commemorates the 1848 anti-Habsburg uprising that was crushed a year later by the combined forces of Austria and Russia. Hungarian reformers demanded civil liberties and national self-government within the Habsburg Empire, including freedom of the press and the abolition of censorship, equality before the law, civil and religious rights, and equal taxation for all citizens, many of which still resonate today.
Both camps mobilised heavily for the holiday, turning the celebrations into a show of strength over which side could bring more supporters onto the streets, a factor that could prove significant in the vote hailed by both parties as historic, Hvg.hu writes. The mass turnout was also seen as a morale booster for them. Fidesz, exploiting its vast financial resources, bused many supporters from rural parts of the country, while most of the Tisza base outside Budapest arrived via carpools or public transport to the capital. Restaurants and bars remained open to accommodate the influx of guests before or after the rallies.
The ruling party hailed its so-called "Peace March", the large pro-government rallies traditionally held on national holidays, as the biggest ever. Pro-government agencies estimated the crowd in front of parliament on Kossuth Square at 180,000, though most independent analysts said the figures were widely overestimated.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, addressing supporters on Hungary's main square, framed the election as a choice between himself and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as Fidesz propaganda continues to label Magyar as a puppet of Brussels and Kyiv.
He addressed the Ukrainian leader directly: "Look, Ukrainians; look, Zelenskiy! This is the thousand-year-old state of the Hungarians. Do you really think you can intimidate us with oil blockades, blackmail, and threats against our leaders? Use your common sense and stop!" he said, insisting that anyone seeking to break the Hungarian nation would have needed to rise up centuries earlier.
Orban also referenced Hungary’s historic struggles against foreign oppression as a sign of national resilience.
"The Turks, the Habsburgs, and the Soviets are no longer here, but we will remain here, even if Brussels parachutists rain down from the sky by the hundreds," he said, adding that there is no place for them in Hungary. "We will pick them up, dust off their trousers, and send them back, some to Brussels, others to Kyiv."
He insisted that Hungary would not surrender its national and Christian constitution, its utility support scheme, the 13th and 14th month pension payments, its "world-beating" family support system, or Europe’s "best tax regime". "We will protect support for mothers and our children, and we will not allow our national colours to be replaced by Ukrainian or rainbow flags," he added.
Tisza Party supporters gathered in central Budapest after Orban’s speech ended to avoid any possible confrontations between the two camps. According to Telex.hu, the only minor incident involved a group of 8-9 people who briefly entered the crowd, formed a circle, and unfurled a huge Ukrainian flag, then left. The act appeared well-coordinated and was probably carried out by Fidesz supporters, as photographers emerged and pictures later appeared in pro-Orban media to discredit Tisza.
The crowd stretched along the 2.5 km length of Andrassy Avenue, spilling into adjacent side streets and reaching all the way to Heroes’ Square, where Peter Magyar delivered his address. Magyar later estimated the turnout at around 500,000, claiming that it was the largest rally in modern Hungarian history. By contrast, Hungary’s state tourism agency put the crowd size at 140,000, while most independent analysts said it was at least double that.
A similar dispute over crowd size unfolded during the most recent major commemorations on October 23, the anniversary of the start of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising.
In his speech, Magyar described Hungarians as "stubborn, future-building citizens" who choose freedom over slavery, drawing parallels to the 1848 anti-Habsburg revolution that fought for freedom of the press and civil liberties.
Magyar denounced Orban as a traitor who betrayed Hungary’s future, building a fiefdom and turning Hungary into the EU’s poorest and most corrupt state. He also referred to him as "the man of the past" who deceived freedom-seeking Hungarians by exploiting their desire to be free citizens. This, he argued, was a political product: during Viktor Orban’s first term between 1998 and 2002, Fidesz was a centre-right party with a supporter base of independent, middle-class voters.
According to many political scientists, the party’s defeat in the 2002 elections prompted Orban to adopt a populist approach, targeting working-class and less-educated demographics. Current polling reflects this shift: Fidesz leads primarily among voters aged 65 and older and those with lower levels of education, while support among younger and highly educated voters ranges from 10% to 20%.
Magyar declared that Tisza sought an end to handed-down privileges and to ensure equality before the law, shared responsibility, genuine press freedom, and no censorship.
He argued that Orban "never wanted conscious citizens, only subjects who would not talk back, who could be kept in fear and manipulated, just as his Turkish, Austrian, and communist predecessors did," referring to his illiberal shift that gained pace from 2014 after overhauling Hungary's institutional framework between 2010 and 2014.
He alleged that Orban had invited "the most skilled Russian agents" to interfere in elections, but Hungarians would not tolerate the loss of their freedom, and he promised a victory on April 12 so resounding it would be visible "not just from the moon, but from the Kremlin".
Magyar pledged that a Tisza Party government would work to secure EU funds for Hungary, introduce a fair tax system, develop healthcare, and impose a wealth tax on billionaires. "By restoring trust and stifling corruption, we will kickstart the economy," he added.
Tisza would establish the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office on the ruins of the Moscow-directed Sovereignty Protection Office, tasked with uncovering the crimes of the past 20 years, he said, adding that Hungary will no longer be a country without consequences: those who have stolen from the common goods will be punished.
One of the first measures of the new government would be to limit the prime minister’s term to two cycles, as outlined in the party’s 240-page manifesto.
The crowd repeatedly chanted "We are not afraid," the slogan used by Magyar since he first emerged in public and "Tisza is on the rise," as well as "Russians go home." The latter slogan was the main motto of the 1956 revolutionaries and also used by Prime Minister Viktor Orban in his historic speech on June 16 1989 at the reburial of the 1956 martyr Prime Minister Imre Nagy. At that time, Orban was head of Fidesz, the youth anti-communist liberal party founded a year earlier.
"Tisza will build a functional, humane, European, proud, peaceful, and prosperous Hungary," he concluded.
At a press conference following the rally, Magyar expressed confidence that the Tisza Party would achieve a decisive victory and declined to comment on alternative scenarios despite the fact that Fidesz has the ability to mobilise voters with its vast resources.
He alleged that the ruling party had allocated billions in the campaign to directly buy votes in certain rural areas with a history of chain voting, offering HUF50,000 (€127) per vote, up from HUF20,000 four years ago. Magyar added that two Tisza Party activists would be stationed in each district to monitor vote counting, with an additional observer on the lookout for any organised electoral fraud.
Tisza Party polls show the party has a lead in some 80 districts, of which 50 are convincing, while in a quarter of districts either Tisza or Fidesz is leading by a margin of error. Fidesz currently holds 135 of the 199 mandates.
Tisza has made headway in small rural municipalities as well, campaign chief Peter Toth told bne IntelliNews. In one district where Fidesz won by 50 points in 2022, that lead has narrowed to just six points, making even those districts winnable, he added.
Magyar told reporters he will continue his campaign rallies from March 16 and plans to cover 140-150 stops over the next 27 days, mostly in small towns. The prime minister also announced last week that he will hold public forums rather than speaking only to invited guests at closed sessions. Orban has never been so engaged in a campaign since 2002, when Fidesz was fighting for a second straight term, analysts said, adding that this confirms Fidesz's internal polls showing it trailing Tisza.
According to Telex.hu, Magyar’s address combined calls for national reconciliation with a clear signal of his readiness for a prime ministerial role. In contrast, Orban focused on a concise, targeted message, presenting himself as the safe choice amid external threats.
