He is no liberal, but a moderate conservative who has captured Hungarians’ dissatisfaction with the rising cost of living, Corruption and crumbling public services.
Orban’s pitch largely focused on Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine. He has increasingly targeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for attacks, echoing his earlier campaigns that heavily targeted the political influence of George Soros, the Jewish Hungarian American billionaire philanthropist – a strategy that has drawn accusations of promoting anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories.
Ahead of the vote, Orban accused Ukraine of sabotaging a major oil pipeline, while Hungarian authorities seized a cache of cash from a Ukrainian bank.
Hungary’s leader says the war must end as soon as possible and not be prolonged by Western support for Ukraine. He argues it is about Hungary’s border security and energy independence, but opponents say it has more to do with pleasing his friends in the Kremlin.
The rest of Orban’s pitch is similar to the playbook he has previously deployed, portraying the vote as an existential struggle against liberal values, immigration and what he calls “gender ideology”, having already banned pride marches and LGBTQ events, which have provoked international condemnation.
“We must save Western civilization,” he said at a rally with Vance on Tuesday. “To do that, we have to fight the progressives based in Brussels, we have to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, and we have to solve the energy crisis.”
Ahead of the vote, people in Budapest were divided over whether Orbán’s long political rule could indeed end.
“Many people are fed up with the Orbán system – the last 15 years have been enough,” said Mate Khour, 46, a hotel owner and Fidesz party member from the small village of CSOR, who was in the crowd at the Orbán-Vence rally. “But Orbán is strong and the party is strong,” he said. “I think it could be a big win. I don’t think Peter Magyar will win this election.”
More optimistic about Magyar’s prospects is Anna Fetter, 27, who recently moved back to Hungary after spending 10 years in the United States. He found living in the US “really hard and distasteful”, citing Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and raids by ICE.
She was one of a handful of protesters outside the Orban-Vence news conference in the center of Budapest. Now back in his homeland, he expects Trump’s allies to lose this Sunday, saying: “I’m pro-change.”
