Hungarians go to the polls on June 9 for European Parliament and municipal elections in a test of the strength of authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his right-wing populist Fidesz party’s nearly 15-year grip on power in the face of one of the strongest challenges in many years.
Peter Magyar, a 43-year-old lawyer and once an ally of Orban, has gained an increasing number of supporters since earlier this year with accusations of corruption and mismanagement by the Orban government.
SEE ALSO: Reporter's Notebook: On The Campaign Trail With Peter Magyar, The New Star Of Hungary's OppositionA rally on June 8, organized by the 43-year-old Magyar -- who is the founder of the new Respect And Freedom (Tisza) party -- told tens of thousands of supporters that “if you want it…Hungary will be the country of justice, honor, and laws."
"Hungary won’t be the wedge, but the link, between East and West," he added.
Orban’s Fidesz party is not affiliated with groups in the European Parliament, but it hopes to benefit in the election from a rise in far-right sentiment across the continent. The number of far-right lawmakers in the European Parliament is expected to grow after the vote.
Magyar’s party has presented itself as a more centrist alternative to Orban’s brand of illiberal populism and is likely to gain several seats in the EU legislature.
Orban has angered many leaders in the European Union for his authoritarian policies, his opposition to aiding Ukraine, and his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
SEE ALSO: Hungary's EU, Local Polls Are A Test For Orban's 'Sovereignty' ClampdownOrban, however, has claimed that casting ballots for his opposition would draw Hungary directly into the war in neighboring Ukraine and precipitate a global armed conflict.
Support for Fidesz in the latest polls ranges from 44 to 48 percent. The center-right Tisza party has 23 to 29 percent -- but many observers say Fidesz's victory is not assured given the strong showing for a movement that only came into being a few months ago.
Gabor Toka, a research professor at Central European University and author of the Vox Populi election guide, told RFE/RL that surveys may not be totally accurate and that pollsters "ask people who respond in one way but may not vote accordingly later."
"There are many people who decide at the last minute who they will vote for.
"When the political situation really changes from week to week, it is of great importance exactly when the snapshot -- i.e. the survey -- was taken," he said.
The election will also be a test for the controversial Sovereignty Protection Office (SZH), established in February and which has waded into the campaign to publicly denigrate individuals and groups and criminalize candidates over accusations of foreign funding and influence.
"This agency is all set up to prevent nasty surprises for Orban in the upcoming elections," Kim Lane Scheppele, a Princeton professor and expert on authoritarian regimes and Hungarian politics and law, told RFE/RL.
Orban said victory in the elections "is needed" and predicted that Fidesz would receive "reinforcements" from every European country and be able to form a pro-peace European coalition in Brussels.
He also commented on the U.S. presidential election, saying that Americans in November will have "a chance to elect a pro-peace president," referring to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Supporters of Peter Magyar take part in a rally ahead of the European Parliament elections in Budapest on June 8.
Orban, who has repeatedly said Ukraine cannot win, said the war "has no solution on the battlefield" and reiterated his call for negotiations to end the full-scale invasion Russia launched in 2022.
Magyar, a longtime political insider in the Fidesz party, has served in the Foreign Ministry and in Hungary's permanent representation to the EU. Until 2023, he was married to Judit Varga, a prominent Fidesz member and the former justice minister.
He gained attention in February when his ex-wife became embroiled in a case in which a man was pardoned after being found guilty of being an accomplice in a case involving child sexual assault.
The scandal claimed the political careers of the president, Katalin Novak, and Varga, who announced that she was retiring from political life.
Magyar in early May told supporters that changes were coming to the country that current leaders will be unable to prevent.
"Change can be stopped for a few days, a few weeks, but no one in history has ever stopped it and neither can they," Magyar said on May 4.