Who’s this Péter Magyar guy?
Posted by g46152@reddit | hungary | View on Reddit | 63 comments
Hey, a foreigner here, I’ve noticed a recent skyrocketing of this dude who’s been linked with Fidesz. From what I recall, he decided to stand up against the party and the government, while his party is polling at a solid level in recent surveys. Is it another failed opposition attempt? What are his political views on EU, NATO, and aid for Ukraine? And laslty, is he a legitimate threat to Orbán and is he able to take him down?
Cold_Ranger4979@reddit
Aid for Ukraine - No weapons policy. Political views on EU - suverenist, same as Macron's views. Political views on Nato - Be a reliable Nato partner. He is a legitimate threat and he will certainly take down Orban. Very far from a failed attempt, rather on the contrary. No one got that popular in such a short period of time in post-socialism Hungarian history.
eyeofthasky@reddit
to but Macron and Orban on the same level in regards to EU-inclining is so off reality as like saying an old german post-war Trabant and an Aston Martin are on the same level as far as cars go ...
eyeofthasky@reddit
well, now at last mr. handsome did it! even if he does as terrible politics for europe as that temu Jabba the Hutt did, at least now we dont have to look at a disgracefully malformed blob everytime something about impeding the EU pops up in news
thats already a win for me "\_(°-°)_/"
Jts12910@reddit
He is the Prime Minister now!!
barnanagy@reddit
Csatlakozz! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1453130085320754/?ref=share ❤️🤍💚
StrengthNo7274@reddit
As the husband of one of the government ministers, he enjoyed the perks of being in fidesz for years, got a ton of money but they kicked him out. He got angry for losing out on the free money for no work. There was an influencer led protest with more than 100 000 participants earlier this year due the pedofile connections of the government, but the organizers didn't follow up on that momentum. Magyar Péter had a secretly recorded tape of his wife ranting in the kitchen about some illegal things the government did, so after fidesz wouldn't pay him he released it and used the dissatisfied crowd looking for a follow up to propel himself to popularity. The click starved so called independent media gave him a ton of free coverage that helped him to reach a lot of people, kinda like Trump in 2015. He knows his target audience, says what they want to hear, but he's the same corrupt criminal as before and only in for the easy money he's used to, he has no intention to topple the government or if elected do any of the popular things he's campaigning on now. Sad thing is so many people are looking for a messiah against Orbán that they can't see through this facade.
Laykray@reddit
The first correct answer on this thread?👀
szofter@reddit
We don't know too much about his positions on these issues yet because so far he's been surfing the wave of his novelty and he's successfully avoided openly taking a stance on most meaningful issues.
He's just a guy who came forward with his opposition to Fidesz with perfect timing. According to polls, Fidesz has lost hundreds of thousands of voters in the past year and a half, most of them since February after a presidential pardon scandal. But these people didn't turn into opposition voters, just inactive/undecided voters, and might have been convinced just before the election to still turn out and vote for Fidesz because librulz bad. Magyar tapped into this bloc of voters and into opposition-leaning voters too, because there are plenty of disappointed opposition voters who are tired of voting for various combinations of the same opposition party voter coalitions that no matter how you combine them always seem to end in a Fidesz supermajority.
So basically, disappointed voters of both sides have been yearning for something, anything, to change. That change came in the form of Péter Magyar, and a lot of people immediately and enthusiastically boarded that train without knowing where it would take them, just enjoying the adventure for the time being and hoping for the best.
AlternativeCry917@reddit
Some people think Magyar is still linked to Fidesz, as his function is to soak up the undecided voters. He takes those votes, which in fact, would be beneficial to Fidesz if those at least didn’t go to the opposition party. Of course this is just calculation, we can’t exactly know what’s behind but I wouldn’t be surprised.
Top_Study833@reddit
He is the new hope to replace Orbán in 2026. He is the husband of the former justice minister, who worked for a state-owned company.
He does not support war, at most he would give humanitarian aid. (This is a dangerous topic in Hungary, the propaganda could really spin it if he is totally for war).
There is a lot of hype around him at the moment. Politically he is in the middle, the goal is Hungary's modern development.
The fact that he can replace Orban is not One might know. We will find out in 2026. But he gives many hope for the future, so masses are listening. And his party is doing pretty well in the polls.
His style is cheeky, he uses Emánuel Macron as an example, he refers to him repeatedly.
Just like Macron, he cast candidates with a high level of education and experience for the European elections. And the people vote the order on the internet. Peter is an interesting phenomenon, by the way. Quite a hopeful.
Tactical_Tubesock@reddit
I’m beyond baffled to see y’all talking about anyone replacing Orbán in 2026. Like you didn’t learn anything from the past 14 years. A realistic expectation is to end the current government’s 2/3 majority, but replacing them is a massive stretch.
Dionis11@reddit
I think he is more of a right - centrist, as he supports sovereignism.
g46152@reddit (OP)
Is it possible for Fidesz to shed a bad light on him through the media to make him disliked by the people? Has the government made any reaction to his sudden risd? Your next elections are still two years away, which is, unfortunately, enough time for this to happen.
Professional-Big934@reddit
A fact-checking portal found that more than 2.1 million euros, or almost HUF 827 million, were spent on political ads in Hungary during this period on Meta's platforms, which is the sixth highest amount in the EU, and the spending per 100,000 inhabitants is the third highest value in the entire European Union (after Denmark and Sweden).
Professional-Big934@reddit
A fact-checking portal found that more than 2.1 million euros, or almost HUF 827 million, were spent on political ads in Hungary during this period on Meta's platforms, which is the sixth highest amount in the EU, and the spending per 100,000 inhabitants is the third highest value in the entire European Union (after Denmark and Sweden).
Top_Study833@reddit
The government is spending billions to discredit Peter. There are about 500 media products linked to the government, and for two months there has been a continuous discrediting. However, these are proving ineffective.
There has been a wife abuser, a footballer's wife, a violent man, a drug addict. Everything you can imagine. Since Peter is a good communicator, a great presenter of propaganda media, these smears have aroused a lot of sympathy from the people. No candidate has been able to do this on this level. All the candidates so far have been neatly discredited by the propaganda media. The propaganda media is simply powerless against it at the moment. It's like he's getting more popular through the discrediting as well.
Prime Minister Orban himself communicates little about this phenomenon. But it is clear that he can pull in a lot of disillusioned Fidesz voters in the future, so there is a minor panic in the government about him. The Prime Minister is not looking good. It is as if he is sick. I'm sure he hasn't had such a difficult time in a long time.
g46152@reddit (OP)
Interesting, thanks!
DahliaXjapan@reddit
The prime minister, Orban, looks like if he has some liver damage - in my opinion. - Also it's not just minor panic. After several years (probably ten years) this is the first time that members of the ruling party answer to the questions of the independent media, or even give an actual interview. They spend much more money to the propaganda media. To understand how this media works here, let me mention this: there is a fake journalist called Bohár Dániel, who calls famous people by phone, records the conversation then he cuts it/edits it, to make it sound as if that certain person supported some utterly immoral views and publishes the result. He called Magyar Peter''s current girlfriend ho is not even a public person....(fortunately she put down the phone immediately)
lipilee@reddit
"The prime minister, Orban, looks like if he has some liver damage" - the famous "hamburger from the sky" :-D
all I hope for is that Magyar's popularity lasts until the EU elections. I have little hope he's much better on the long run than Orban (but I'm not basing this on anything), but at least far right in the EU could be culled back a bit...
Alzador94@reddit
Godspeed 🙏
Also..Orban and his ministers are so afraid of Péter, they don't even utter his name in the few interviews they give..they always refer to him as "the former husband of the former head of the ministry of justice" and such..
Karesz000@reddit
I would add, that the retired people (mostly Fidesz supporters) still think he is some sort of a bad guy. Accused being lefty, financed by foreign sources, he is a man of Gyurcsány (pre-Orban prime minister - the devil itself), etc. I can not imagine anything that can turn this. These people mostly rely on the media handled by Fidesz (MTV and radio), so they have one kind of source of information. And of course Fidesz (through their media coverage) tries to discredit Magyar as much as they can.
theoneandonlyhuntyr@reddit
sure he had been already. he had been accused by propagandists that he hit his wife and made her confess "lies" about a serious case in the ministry of justice, that he is actually part of Gyurcsany's opposition and bullshit like he wears women's sunglasses (yes, the latter is enough for fidesz voters to hate the guy)
g46152@reddit (OP)
Damn. Our lies are bullshit, but not this level of bullshit.
DahliaXjapan@reddit
Fun fact: one of the main reasons that this "beating his wife" lie did not work out is that a huge persantage of Orban supporters are actually beating their wifes lol
The other is that Magyar Peter's ex-wife made fun of all those who dared to mention any feminist idea in every way. So feminists or liberal people did not really buy her shit that much, I would say
DcNdrew@reddit
Even Russian bullshits are lesser bullshits than Hungarian bullshits.
theoneandonlyhuntyr@reddit
but don't worry. he already sold his "womens" sunglasses... just to raise over 2 million huf (~5500 usd) as a charity
Svvitzerland@reddit
"He does not support war,"
What is that supposed to mean? Nobody other than Putin and his cronies supports the war. Mentioning that Peter Magyar does not support the war is like mentioning that he does not support killing puppies.
goldentoaster41@reddit
What they meant is that he does not support sending military aid to ukraine or getting Hungary any more involved with the war.
The biggest reason for this is that FIDESZ is trying to discredit any and all members of the opposition by refering to them as "those on the side of war" (in contrast with FIDESZ allegedly being on the side of peace by wanting there to be a ceasefire as fast as possible), regardless of whether they've actually spoken up in favour of supporting Ukraine or not. Of course if you do not say anything substantial about this topic than it becomes harder for this type of propaganda to actually work, which is what he's gunning for.
AllYouNeedIs_Less@reddit
our last chance
MattSzaszko@reddit
To piggyback on your questions, what's his stance on Chinese foreign investment?
Doveen@reddit
The newest guy whom some opposition voters will treat as the messiah for a while, then when all he does is further fraction opposition votes, and we get another fidesz 2/3rds manority, people will .ove on and wait for the next.
Robogomaci@reddit
Another Russian agent / person with significant amount of compromat on him
Another actor in the show directed by Moscow (pretending to play democracy but all actors are Russian agents)
No-Bad-1269@reddit
Peter Hungarian
Foghorn_Gyula@reddit
False prophet
Chrol18@reddit
The guy enjoyed 10+ years in fidesz circles, now he wants some political power too, that is all. A lot of people hope he will be the one to dethrone Orbán, but at best he will take opposition votes, the hardcore fidesz voters don't change that easily.
myongo77@reddit
Basically the Lisan al-Gaib of Hungary. I guess that explains everything lol
Chrol18@reddit
na a messiásvárók, unirónikusan annak hívod, várjuk csak ki a végét.
TatcherFan@reddit
Hope he will not exactly behave like Paul in the long run, I don’t want to spoil anything of Dune. I will just say the writer at the same point in the books wanted to show that infinite power in one hand is not a very good thing. I read that he wrote the next book (Messiah) because he was very angry that people did not get it.
In the movie they tried to emphasize this with Chani’s behavior (she supported Paul fully in the books) but I don’t think that part turned out well. Also the “send them to paradise” (meaning kill them all) at the end was also a clue, but I don’t think it was understood generally.
Anyways, on the topic I am also rooting for Peter!
botiapa@reddit
I haven't read the books, but in the movie I felt like it was heavily implied by Chani's reaction that this is not going to end well.
TatcherFan@reddit
I read that was the director’s intention! I didn’t get it but I already read the books by then so it must be a different experience!
OpinionProhibited@reddit
Our last hope
WhichArt1773@reddit
It's not the last, we persist even if they spit in our face!
Flat_Improvement1191@reddit
He is the Lisan Al Gaib
TheNightManager_89@reddit
Regarding EU he said that while he acknowledges the massive corruption our government is doing, he wouldn't support the notion of putting all the funds for Hungary on hold. But he also said that joining the European Public Prosecution Office (so the guys who investigate how EU funds are used) would be one of the first things he'd do, so if he's ever elected he is a lot more likely to follow regulations and restore our relations.
Most opposition attempts started failing after they started negotiating with a former PM called Gyurcsány (the most disliked politician of Hungary since 2006), who's pretty much the secret weapon of Fidesz and whose job is to destroy every opposition party while pretending to be one of them. Magyar is hopefully never going to make the mistake of sitting down with him, so there is hope.
I'm not sure what he thinks of NATO but it's not a very popular topic nowadays because Trump wants to blow the whole thing up, so I guess we'll have to wait till the US elections are over to find it out. But Magyar is generally pro-West, so he won't be sucking Putin's dick like Orbán does.
Whether he's a real threat to the Orbán mafia or not... Well, not sure but so far he's been a lot more successful in reaching the people than the Fidesz-approved opposition parties ever been, which are (finally) going through an existential crisis for not doing jack shit and fucking even that up for the past one and a half decade.
Haalo87@reddit
He is
Batman.
myFEARdlemma@reddit
Lisan al-Gaib!
Itchy_Assistance_275@reddit
Cringe bro
myFEARdlemma@reddit
phdf501@reddit
Don’t mind the guy. Our propaganda department will take care of him sooner or later.
ErrorMacrotheII@reddit
An ex mobster who lost his job when his wife divorced her.
koalakraken@reddit
Some in depth reading, to add to what others said:
https://museonadiet.substack.com/p/peter-magyar-the-long-awaited-messiah
https://open.substack.com/pub/museonadiet/p/orbans-new-challenger
Not very recent articles but everything moves so fast around this topic, it would be next to impossible to find something comprehensive and up to date.
drbombay0728@reddit
Nobody knows
MightyPotato96@reddit
Lisan-al Gaib
LightSideoftheForce@reddit
I’d add to the other comments regarding Ukraine: ofc he will not support war (I don’t think he would even if it wasn’t the biggest target for Orbán), but he does call Russia and unjust aggressor and said that the only acceptable outcome of the war is restoring Ukraine’s full territorial integrity, which is something Orbán would never say.
Silly-Elderberry-411@reddit
Because he outsourced it to Novák. It's cheap lip service.
dmHUN@reddit
Our family guy
g46152@reddit (OP)
Thanks for all the answers so far. Best of luck from Slovakia.
szty1@reddit
We'll see if this is a failed attempt or not, elections are in a month or so. Right now it looks like he presents more danger to the current opposition than to Fidesz. But if he manages to consolidate the anti-Fidesz vote behind a single party, this will be a problem for Fidesz in the long run.
Definitely pro EU and most likely pro NATO.
Aid for Ukraine is a very delicate issue right now, as Orbán and his propaganda labels anyone who is not them pro war. He said on several occasions that he does not support sending weapons to Ukraine.
We do not know yet if he's a danger to Orbán or not. Very few public polls were published in the last few weeks. We do know that Fidesz polls the public several times a week, but they only publish data when it suits their narrative. Other polls are very contradictory. This is definitely one of the most turbulant period in Hungarian politics.
Czitrom@reddit
I expect lengthy, thoroughly composed comments explaining the situation
whyismyserverlagging@reddit
Don't you know what day it is?
Czitrom@reddit
Obviously, its Independence Day in Sierra Leone, but what's that got to do with the question?
estneked@reddit
i bet it ends with a "y"
UnluckyPossibility37@reddit
Ó micsoda véletlen, hogy eljutott külföldre Magyar Péter híre, de csak a DK-s tállalásban és pont azokat kérdezi a forénőr, amikbe bele lehet magyarázni hülyeségeket... Klári bazd meg, attól nem lesztek fiatalosabbak, ha külföldiül írjátok redditre a sunyi kis szarjaitokat