Peter Magyar takes legal action against "Russian style" smear campaign

Opposition leader suspects former girlfriend behind secretly recorded sex tape

Hungary’s opposition leader, Péter Magyar, who is leading opinion polls ahead of April’s parliamentary elections, has accused Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party and his former partner of preparing a smear campaign involving a secretly recorded sex tape. The allegation marks a further escalation in an already tense campaign. Magyar, whose Tisza party currently leads Fidesz in surveys, said he believed the governing party was planning to release intimate footage allegedly recorded using surveillance equipment. “I suspect they are planning to release a recording, recorded with secret service equipment and possibly faked, in which my then-girlfriend and I are seen having intimate intercourse,” he wrote on social media.

Magyar said the media had received a photograph of a bedroom accompanied by the message “coming soon”, suggesting a video release was imminent. The image has since circulated online, fueling public debate, although no video has appeared. “I am a 45-year-old man, and I have a regular sex life, with an adult partner,” he added. The same image is displayed on a website bearing the name of Tisza’s vice-president, Márk Radnai, alongside the date “2024.08.03”, though Radnai said the domain is not his. Fidesz representatives have denied any role in distributing the photograph. Under Hungarian law, publishing sexually explicit images without consent constitutes a criminal offence. The claims come amid campaign tensions, including reports of activists being attacked and candidates targeted with deepfake videos. On Friday Magyar said he is seeking legal actions.

Workers at Samsung battery plant in Göd have been exposed to toxic substances

An intelligence report presented to Hungarian ministers in 2023 concluded that workers at Samsung SDI’s battery plant in Göd had been exposed to far more serious health and safety risks than previously acknowledged, according to an investigation published this week by Telex. Commissioned by the government amid suspicions that contamination at the factory was worse than publicly admitted, the report detailed systemic occupational safety failures and poisonings. While deficiencies at the plant were already known and had resulted in fines worth tens of millions of forints, the intelligence findings described more severe, previously concealed problems. Internal measurements reportedly showed extreme contamination levels, including a case in which a worker inhaled carcinogenic substances at 510 times the legal limit. Ministers were also shown evidence that the plant’s ventilation system could not filter fine toxic dust and that contaminated black powder was at times released into the open air through the roof.

Samsung SDI’s Göd facility, originally a television screen factory before its conversion to battery production in the mid-2010s, began manufacturing electric vehicle batteries in 2017 and has since become central to Hungary’s strategy of building a battery industry it considers economically strategic. According to Telex, cabinet discussions revealed divisions, with some ministers, including Antal Rogán reportedly arguing for suspending operations, while foreign minister Péter Szijjártó opposed closure, citing economic and investor concerns. The government ultimately opted not to halt production, granting the company time to remedy the issues while imposing what Telex described as symbolic fines relative to revenues. The outlet also reported that leaked internal documents suggested Samsung executives discussed countering the investigative newsroom Átlátszó after it reported on safety and environmental concerns, anticipating regulatory scrutiny. Szijjártó dismissed the Telex report as fake news.

Opposition leader says they are not building a "light" version of Fidesz

In an exclusive interview with 444, Péter Magyar, leader of Tisza party, they already have draft legislations and scenarios prepared for victories of varying proportions - a simple majority and a supermajority." There are areas where this is perfectly in place, 100 percent, and there are areas where our experts are still working. The handover will not be the same as after a four-year cycle. A system has been built up here over 16 years, so we have to be very careful to ensure that, for example, documentation is not shredded," Magyar said adding there are also necessary legislation, whether it be healthcare reform, amendments to the 2026 budget, the establishment of the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, or even the abolition of the Sovereignty Protection Office.

He expressed he doesn't like the term "Fidesz-light." "We are not building Fidesz-light or Viktor Orbán 2. My colleagues and I had civilian lives. Not to feel sorry for ourselves, but it was a much more pleasant life and a more balanced private life than the current situation." He stressed that one of Tisza's main objectives is to rebuild the system of checks and balances and maximize the prime minister's terms of office.