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Péter Magyar: The ruling party has fallen
Just like on January 1, 2025, Péter Magyar gave his New Year's speech a few minutes after midnight, accompanied by the national anthem. The president of the Tisza Party began his speech with five numbers: 26, 48, 56, 67, and 89, which he said were defining years in Hungarian history. Four of the five years he referred to were 1848, 1956, 1867, and 1989. The fifth, however, was not 2026, as many might have thought, but 1526, the year of the Battle of Mohács, a warning that the division of the nation "always comes at a heavy price."
"The country cannot have a leader who does not put the welfare of Hungarian children first, who does nothing for years while knowing that thousands of children are being abused," said Magyar, referring to the recent child abuse scandal. He also criticized the prime minister for his sensitive moves in terms of national policy and for increasing poverty. In his words, Orbán "will betray our Hungarian brothers and sisters in Upper Hungary, Transylvania (...) his main task is not to eliminate poverty, but to enrich his own family."
Magyar said, the election should not be about anger or revenge, nor even about victory. "Above all, it should be about our common hope," a country where "the state is not an enemy, but an ally." According to Magyar, "everyone can see that the current government has failed. It has lost the trust of the people. They also feel that this is the end."
Fidesz voters split over government response to abuse allegations
More than half of Hungary’s population is critical of the government’s handling of the abuse allegations linked to the juvenile detention centre on Budapest’s Szőlő Street, according to a representative poll conducted by the 21 Research Center (commissioned by Telex) . The survey suggests that even within its own ranks, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party can rely on the backing of only a relatively narrow segment of voters. The case, which has come to encompass a series of allegations involving a state-run institution, has resulted in the arrest of the facility’s former director and his partner on suspicion of human trafficking and forced labour, alongside charges of abuse of office and misuse of a firearm. Since then, several more suspects have been questioned, with multiple former employees now in custody or under criminal supervision, many accused of abusing minors held at the centre.
The poll highlights how deeply politicised the affair has become. A quarter of respondents said the government bears responsibility for what happened, while smaller proportions blamed the institution’s staff, its director, or, in a minority of cases, the minors themselves. Views diverge sharply along party lines: most Fidesz supporters tend to fault the centre’s employees, while voters for the opposition Tisza party overwhelmingly place responsibility on the government. Dissatisfaction with the authorities’ response is widespread, with more than half of respondents rating it poor or very poor, and only a small minority judging it positively. Notably, even among Fidesz voters, approval is unusually low by the party’s standards, underlining the extent to which the Szőlő Street affair has become a politically damaging issue for the ruling party.
Ukrainian politician once on Hungary’s most wanted list resurfaces with public project in Beregsurány
Natali Vasilyeva is an influencer from Berehove. She tries to bring a little cheer to the small town since the war started. Her videos on TikTok are primarily aimed at the Ukrainian population. However, on Sunday she crossed the border to make a promotional video from a free parking lot on the Hungarian side, in the immediate vicinity of the Beregsurány border crossing.
The video shows that commuters will find a perfect location next to the border crossing, with a free parking lot with 300 spaces available from Monday for those who leave their cars on the Hungarian side. The video shows a container with a company name on it: BeregParking Ltd.
BeregParking Ltd is owned by a resident of Tiszakerecseny named János Antipov, and its managing director is Anti Viktor , who is registered at the same address and whose mother has the same name as János Antipov's mother. In other words, they are brothers, and both are Hungarian citizens. Anti Viktor topped the Hungarian police's most wanted list in 2019.The 37-year-old Ukrainian-Hungarian dual citizen was wanted on suspicion of instructing two Hungarian men to place a wreath with threatening messages at the home of a border guard. Those who placed the wreath at the house were found, partly thanks to the assistance of the National Defense Service in the investigation. However, Anti Viktor was not found, which is why he was placed at the top of the wanted list.
His real name is Vitaliy Antyipov, a local representative known for his anti-Hungarian sentiments. Anti Viktor/Vitaliy Antyipov was previously the leader of the Poroshenko party faction in Beregszász, and he obtained Hungarian citizenship under a false name.