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Orban faces competition ahead elections as rival attracks massive crowds on rally
Tens of thousands of Hungarians gathered in Budapest on Thursday for rival rallies marking the start of next year’s election campaign, 444 reports. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party and his new challenger, Péter Magyar, organized competing demonstrations on the anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 anti-Soviet uprising a day that holds central symbolic meaning in Hungarian history.
For Orbán, the anniversary has long served as a showcase for nationalist unity. Speaking before his supporters at Parliament Square, he sought to rally his base as Fidesz faces its strongest competition in more than a decade. His “peace march” was also overshadowed by the cancellation of a meeting in Budapest between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin .
Magyar addressed a massive crowd of his own. His movement, Tisza, has surged in popularity amid criticism over record inflation and government scandals.
Fico says Orbán asked him to declare Hungary’s rejection of EU statement on Ukraine
Tha lates EU summit in Brussels focused on Ukraine, China, and climate protection. Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán was unable to attend the first half of the meeting due to a national holiday, so Robert Fico represented Hungary, 444 reports.
"Budapest requested that the summit's conclusions on Ukraine not be adopted unanimously, but only by 26 countries, with the exception of Hungary," Fico said at a Slovak parliamentary hearing, according to Austrian public media.
Since March, the Hungarian prime minister has been left out of three consecutive EU summits on Ukraine, which were adopted not by the entire body of heads of state and government, but separately on behalf of the 26. The Slovak prime minister supported the EU's latest package of sanctions against Russia, even though Fico himself does not fully support the sanctions. "All they have achieved is that the Russians are now self-sufficient, whereas before they were not," he said.
Fidesz extends state of danger into election season
Hungary’s parliament voted to extend the country’s state of danger for another six months, keeping a special legal order in place through the April elections, Telex reports. The measure allows Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government to continue ruling by decree. It was first introduced more during the pandemic and maintained almost continuously since. Officials justified the latest extension by citing the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine and the resulting “humanitarian crisis,” though critics say the emergency powers have long outlived any legitimate necessity.
The state of danger gives the government authority to bypass normal parliamentary procedures, suspend or amend laws, and issue decrees without approval. While ministers insist it will not affect the conduct of next year’s elections, rights groups have warned that such powers could be used to alter campaign rules or limit freedoms of speech and assembly. Hungary has never held national elections under a state of danger, and legal experts note that while the government cannot delay the vote, it retains broad authority to amend electoral regulations. The law passed this week ensures that the emergency framework will remain in force even as a new government takes office, unless a two-thirds majority in parliament decides otherwise.
Hilarion met with Orbán several times and lobbied to exempt Russians from sanctions, according to the Russian priest's former secretary
A former assistant to Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary, has alleged that the cleric used his position to lobby Hungarian officials on behalf of Russian businessmen and oligarchs seeking to avoid European sanctions. In an interview with The Insider, the assistant said Hilarion regularly met with Viktor Orbán and Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, and that discussions included ways for Hungary to issue residence permits to wealthy Russians or support efforts to lift restrictions on them. He also claimed that Hilarion played a role in ensuring that Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, was not added to EU sanctions lists.
The former aide further alleged that Hilarion maintained close ties with the Russian Embassy in Budapest, met with oligarchs abroad, and used funds intended for church projects to finance a lavish lifestyle. He accused Hilarion of sexual harassment and said he fled Hungary to Japan after being threatened. Hilarion, in turn, has filed a criminal case against him, accusing him of theft. According to the assistant, the churchman has since been transferred to the Czech Republic but continues to live in Hungary.