Hungary: Péter Magyar was once in Orbán’s camp. Now he challenges him

A pedophilia scandal, resignations of high-ranking politicians, allegations of corruption, mudslinging, leaked information from a former government insider – and a rising opposition star who is challenging the autocratic head of government. It sounds like the material for a new political series on Netflix. But these topics have dominated the headlines in Hungary for weeks. At the center of the political drama on the Danube is Péter Magyar, who is seen as a potential threat to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Thousands of people have been protesting in Budapest for weeks, led by Magyar, who until recently was a high-ranking member of Orbán’s ruling party Fidesz. He held high positions in administration and in government-related companies. Within Fidesz, the 43-year-old Hungarian held various positions and was married to former justice minister Judit Varga, a key figure in a major Hungarian political affair.

Varga, himself an aspiring Fidesz member, was expected to become the party’s top candidate in the European elections in June. She and her ex-husband have three children, and the quintet was often portrayed as the perfect family in Hungarian glossy magazines. The couple divorced at the beginning of 2023.

Scandal surrounding the pardon of convicted abusers

Around a year later, Varga was caught up in a scandal that set off an avalanche: In February it became known that Hungarian President Katalin Novak had pardoned around two dozen people in April 2023. Among them was the deputy head of a children’s home who was convicted of aiding and abetting the sexual abuse of minors. According to the verdict, he forced children to recant their statements as victims of abuse against the home director in order to exonerate his boss. He had known about the cases of abuse for years. The home director was sentenced to eight years in prison.

The pardon sparked outrage in Hungary, with thousands calling for Novak’s resignation, which she eventually submitted. For Varga, too, the scandal became the grave of her career. She signed said pardon. As a result, she resigned from all her positions and said goodbye to the public.

End of act one, appearance of Péter Magyar.

After Novak’s resignation, the Varga ex resigned from all his state-related positions and dropped a bombshell: In one Interview with the Hungarian platform “Partizán” on YouTube He took aim at the Orbán government, accusing it of oligarchy and corruption. Few families in Hungary are in charge. Magyar is particularly harsh in his denunciations Antal Rogan who, as head of the Cabinet Office in Hungary, is responsible not only for the media but also for the secret service. Critics accuse him of pro-government propaganda. More than 2.4 million people clicked on the more than 90-minute interview – with more than ten million inhabitants in Hungary.

In one Facebook post on February 10th, a day before the “Partizán” interview, Magyar explained his reasons why he is now rebelling against the Orbán system: “I don’t want to be part of a system for a minute in which those who are really responsible hide behind women’s skirts.” This means Novak and Varga. It has now become clear to him that the power elite only cares about one thing: “concealing its machinations” and “accumulating untold wealth.” “If we don’t want our children to grow up in a Hungary that is a family business, then it’s worth changing it,” he said on Partizán.

Audio recording puts Hungary’s government in trouble

Magyar cleverly uses social media for this cause and repeatedly explains that he has insider information from the Fidesz-Orbán complex, that could cause it to collapse.

He gave a foretaste on March 26th: Magyar published an audio recording on his Facebook page in which he and his ex-wife can allegedly be heard. The recording from January 2023, which was apparently secretly recorded, is said to be about a case of corruption in the Fidesz government. Varga’s former state secretary is said to have received large bribes in return for his consent to fill court vacancies. The public prosecutor’s office has been investigating this case since 2021. Even more piquant: The recording is said to prove that the government tried to cover up Orbán’s confidant Rogán’s involvement in a corruption affair. Magyar handed the recording over to the public prosecutor’s office.

It’s difficult to say whether the recording is real. Varga stated that Magyar had forced or pressured her into making the statement. “I said what he wanted to hear so I could leave as quickly as possible. In such a situation, any person can say things they don’t mean when intimidated,” Varga wrote on Facebook. Although she did not question the authenticity of the recording, she continued to write that Magyar was now using it to achieve his political goals. “He’s not worth trusting.”

The government did not initially respond to the publication of the recording. Orbán’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyás simply explained that a “marital dispute” has “nothing to do with public life.”

Nevertheless, the recording brings thousands onto the streets. Magyar repeatedly calls for protests through its channels, such as a large demonstration on April 6th. The demonstrators are demanding nothing less than the resignation of the government of right-wing populist Orbán, whom Magyar describes as the “head of the mafia state.”

“We will not allow the biggest political and legal scandal of the last thirty years to be covered up,” Magyar shouted to his supporters at a demonstration. Hungary must get closer to its Western allies again, public prosecutors and the media in the country must become independent of politics again.

“Let’s create a force that all Hungarians with good intentions who want to work for their country can join,” Magyar shouted to the demonstrators.

Pro-government media spread negative headlines about Péter Magyar

To this end, Magyar wants to found a party with which he wants to free Hungary from Orbán’s grip. According to a survey by the Median polling institute, Magyar could now hope for nine percent of the vote in an election – which would make a party led by him the strongest force in the fragmented Hungarian opposition. On He even claimed on Facebook that a party he founded could get 20 percent. This would be shown by surveys that have not yet been published.

Orbán seems nervous about his new opponent. It seems as if his strategy is to portray Magyar as villains. The autocrat does not distribute himself. He lets friendly newspapers and television stations produce negative headlines about Magyar – child’s play, given Orbán brought many of Hungary’s media to his line.

The public broadcaster MTV reported about in detail about statements Vargas in an interview about marriage to Magyar. Varga locked himself in a room, ran around the house with a knife, was aggressive, scared their children. Varga was subjected to domestic violence for years, the MTV reports said.

Péter Magyar himself commented Facebook about his ex-wife’s statements. He wrote that Varga was being used “by propaganda for the vile purpose of political discrediting” and denied that he had become violent towards his wife. Rather, she hit him.

How dangerous will Magyar be for Orbán?

Other articles claim that Magyar has connections to the network of George Soros, a US investor of Hungarian origin who is considered a major critic of Orbán. In another MTV report there is again talk of Magyar’s aggressive driving style, there is a police report about Magyar.

Even those close to the government “Magyar Nemzet” publishes one critical article after another, such as the headline “Péter Magyar’s ten biggest lies”. In other articles he is described as the “messiah of the left” who is on a “political killing spree.”

Until now, Viktor Orbán seemed to have Teflon skin. Numerous accusations and protests in recent years have had little effect on him, which was also due to a weakened opposition. Hopes like the small town mayor Péter Márki-Zay failed against the overpowering Orbán.

This could change now. Magyar’s revelations are considered credible because he himself was in Orbán’s circle. Many see the opposition’s new figurehead as a kind of “key witness.” Even the discrediting reports don’t seem to have done him any harm so far. The next parliamentary elections are not until 2026 – but the current protests are the largest in years and there are European elections in June. They will be the first test of mood for Orbán and Magyar.

Sources: news agencies AFP, APDPA and Reuters (1), Reuters (2), Interview with Péter Magyar at “Partizán”, “Blikk”MTV (several articles), RTL Club“Magyar Nemzet” (several articles), “Nepszava”, “The New Zurich Times”, Deutschlandfunk, “Politico”, “The Budapest Times”