Who is Péter Magyar, Hungary’s new Opposition figure? | Explained

The Hindu explains why a former government insider Péter Magyar is leading a new wave of anti-government protests in Budapest challenging Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party. 

The story so far: Dissent has a new voice and a fresh face in Viktor Orbán’s land. Hungary, in the last month, saw two major protests challenging the nationalist government. Leading both was Péter Magyar, a lawyer and former diplomat who was once part of Hungary’s ruling elite circle. Mr. Magyar is now an opponent: fiercely criticising the regime of corruption and dismantling of democratic institutions under Mr. Orban’s 14-year-long rule.

A recent rally in Budapest on April 6 is being termed the biggest political demonstration in years; it had almost a hundred thousand people in attendance at the city’s central Kossuth Square. There, Mr. Magyar announced a new political outfit that will contest the local elections and upcoming European Union polls in June. The 43-year-old has pitched this as a convergence of the left and the right, a credible choice between the ruling Fidesz party and the “ineffectual” opposition. “Step by step, brick by brick, we are taking back our homeland and building a new country, a sovereign, modern, European Hungary,” Mr. Magyar told protesters.

Mr. Magyar’s connections precede him. The lawyer was previously known for his marriage to Mr. Orban’s ex-Justice Minister Judit Varga, a popular figure in the political landscape. The two were married for nearly a decade; Ms. Varga served as an advisor at the European Parliament while Mr. Magyar held different positions on state boards. The two, with their three children, were framed in the media as a modern nuclear family. Mr. Magyar in an interview with Képmás in 2020 spoke about stepping back from his career at a crucial time to take care of the children. “I never experienced this as a victim, marriage is teamwork...” he said. The couple separated last year.

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Mr. Magyar also hails from a well-connected family in the right-wing landscape. His grandfather is a famous judge; his mother works in the judicial branch; his father, too, is a judge who also hosted a popular television programme. His great-uncle served as Hungary’s President between 2000 to 2005. Mr. Magyar was reportedly introduced to Ms. Varga through Gergely Gulyás – Mr. Orbán’s current chief of staff.

The former government insider blew the whistle on Mr. Orbán’s government this year, in what analysts have called the biggest political crisis during the Prime Minister’s 14-year-long rule. The Guardian called it a political saga which Hungarians followed like a “soap opera.” The series of events unspooled thus: Mr. Magyar in February resigned from the board of MBH Bank, spoke publicly about the reign of corruption and later published incriminating tapes on Facebook that evidenced how the ruling government controlled the Hungarian justice system. Opposition politician Katalin Cseh told Politico this is “one of the first cases when someone from Orbán’s inner circle has spoken out”.

In the tape dated January 2023, Mr. Magyar is seen in a conversation with former partner Ms. Varga, who revealed how a government aide tampered with evidence in a corruption case. The tape follows closely on the heels of a sex abuse scandal this year, which resulted in the resignation of former President Katalin Novák and Ms. Varga herself. The two— key political allies of Mr. Orbán — reportedly helped cover-up the abuse case, with Ms. Novák later pardoning the man convicted of the crime. Mr. Magyar said that the resignation is an attempt to scapegoat the two women, and Mr. Orbán’s government continues to hide “behind the skirt of women”.