https://apnews.com/article/hungary-opposition-campaign-orban-f4e2d7a7cc73a19cc0dbb18a7286835d -- opening excerpt:
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar launched his party’s election campaign in Budapest on Sunday, vowing to restore Hungary’s Western orientation just eight weeks before he faces Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in a pivotal vote.
Magyar, a former insider in Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party, burst onto Hungary’s political scene in 2024 after breaking with his political community and quickly forming the center-right Tisza party.
After taking around 30% of the vote in European Parliament elections in June 2024, he has grown Tisza into the most formidable political force Orbán has faced during his 16 years at Hungary’s helm. Most independent polls show Tisza with a significant lead before the April 12 vote, an advantage which has held steady for more than a year.
“We’re standing on the threshold of victory with 56 days left to go,” he told supporters [...]