Opening:
Gábor Horn, Chairman of the Board of the Republikon Foundation, said at the opening of the event that it had been a relatively calm period. However, this was overruled by the appearance of Péter Magyar. As a result, the campaign period, which often seems boring, might be a bit more interesting. He mentioned that women had been invited to the first section of the conference, but that those who had been approached had generally recommended their male colleagues instead. So, this is the reason why only men take part in the politicians' panel discussions.
Politicians panel discussion:
Zsolt Molnár, MP of the MSZP, believes that it can help the opposition if Péter Magyar raises attention in important issues. However, his credibility could be called into question by the fact that he was a beneficiary of the system he criticised. On the other hand, it is detrimental to the opposition if it is not its own ideas that are discussed, but another issue that dominates the public debate. In his view, the relationship between opposition parties during the campaign may be more important than the serious social problems. In his view, only a strong opposition running on a joint list has a chance of defeating Fidesz in 2026. If the party stands alone in the EP elections, it expects to win at least 1 seat. In the local government and minority election, he would consider Gergely Karácsony's re-election and victories in some large cities and the retention of positions gained in 2019 as successes.
Márton Gyöngyösi, President of the Jobbik-Konzervatívok, wishes Péter Magyar good luck, as he considers the dismantling of the NER a patriotic mission. However, he would like to hear the first concrete sentence from him. He considers it a disadvantage for the opposition that he alone fills the entire media space, making it difficult to include his own topics. He sees the stakes of the double elections in the summer as determining the relationship with the EU and holding the municipalities against Fidesz. They support credible local people in the local government election, and he does not see these two elections as a good time to change government. He believes that the country's place was clearly in the EU and NATO and that this should be emphasised during the campaign. In the EP elections they are aiming to win seats, while in the local government elections they are aiming to preserve some important cities. And in Budapest, they consider the primaries important and do not understand Gergely Karácsony's shying away from the possibility.
Richárd Barabás, co-president of the Párbeszéd-Zöldek, said that the problem with the Péter Magyar phenomenon is that after years he suddenly realised that the system he had benefited from was wrong. While the opposition has been fighting this battle for many years. He blames the opposition as well for the situation that has developed, as it has failed to present a real political alternative to Fidesz. In the light of the serious international crises of recent times, a strong Europe is needed. In Hungary, a pro-European, green, open, and progressive alternative is important. In his opinion, the biggest stake in the EP elections is the return of EU resources to the people. In the current situation he cannot predict whether the party will win an EP seat or not. On the local government front, the re-election of Gergely Karácsony is their main goal.
Máté Kanász-Nagy the MP of the LMP sees the emergence of Péter Magyar as a crisis phenomenon. However, in his view, the opposition parties have failed to channel dissatisfaction with the government. He thinks that the constant negative assessment of the situation by the opposition leads to a kind of psychosis and that highlighting the problems even louder is not the right solution. He sees the most important issues in the election campaign as the battery factory issue and the problems in Budapest. With Dávid Vitézy's support, they want to reach voters who believe that change can be achieved in Budapest. He says Vitézy poses no risk at all to Fidesz's chances of winning back Budapest. In his opinion, electoral success cannot be measured only in numbers, LMP is trying to present an alternative within the opposition.
Dávid Bedő, leader of the parliamentary group for Momentum, said that there have been few times in the past 14 years when Fidesz has not dominated the political agenda. However, the outbreak of the paedophile scandal and the emergence of Péter Magyar changed that. The problem, he sees, is that opposition voters are most interested in Magyar, who could further divide the opposition. He thinks it is difficult to say in general terms what voters will pay attention to, but highlighting locally important issues could be the solution. And he believes voters can be mobilised by the possibility of change at EU or local level. In Budapest, he sees a reshuffle of the current city government as a positive and sees more Budapest district victories as likely than those in 2019. He would also consider it a success if the opposition could win in more larger cities than 5 years ago. And in the EP elections, they aim to retain the two seats they won in 2019.
Gergely Arató, head of the parliamentary group for the Demokratikus Koalíció, noted with regret that the previously booming interest in child protection is fading. He believes that the opposition can be successful in the long term if it appeals to voters who feel that politics is not about them. The campaign must present the real stakes of the elections and mobilise voters. He believes that campaigning without money is difficult, but not impossible if the necessary work is done. The re-election of Gergely Karácsony and a stable majority in the assembly behind him are also seen as important. In addition to retaining the positions they have won in county and medium-sized cities in 2019, they aim to win more. And where they fail, the solution is to run a competent and strong opposition. In the EP elections, they want to reduce Fidesz to a minority.
Professional panel discussion:
Enikő Tóth, campaign manager of aHang, pointed out that it is often very difficult to introduce a new topic to the public. In her opinion, personalities still have great power. Furthermore, she does not see the need to banish simplistic, quick-to-receive messages from campaigns. At the same time, he would like to see similar messages not abused. He thinks that the communication machine behind the government is slowly finding an antidote to Peter Magyar.
Zsolt Erdélyi, advertising expert, says that campaigning is not good at all, but it is all the more important. In his view, politicians are not really open about the professional aspects of campaigning. He believes that attracting attention is not a question of resources, but of strategy and tactics. He regrets that domestic parties are unable to introduce new issues into the public discourse and often do not even try. In addition to the former, he sees a lack of credibility in domestic parties. In his opinion, it is a pity for opposition parties to rely on Fidesz's media dominance, as the parties often leave expertise, credibility and work out of their campaigns.
Krisztián Nyáry, a writer and communications expert, believes that a good politician campaigns all the time. In his opinion, campaigning takes the place of doing substantive politics and real governance. He thinks it is necessary to get more complex messages across to voters. He agrees with Zsolt Erdélyi that parties do not have strategies, but even if they do, they do not last more than half a year. He believes that voters no longer believe that opposition parties can win. They have failed to do so on countless occasions. The only chance the opposition has is if Fidesz makes a mistake, and the parties can take advantage of that.
Dorottya Czuk, press officer of the Ferencváros Mayor's Office, also believes that the parties have no defined strategies apart from Fides. She considers a campaign successful with a lot of work, a well-defined strategy and clear goals. Krisztina Baranyi is a good example of this. As it is clear that opposition parties do not have as much money as Fidesz, he believes that these parties do not need to campaign in the same way, and that a similar situation would require creativity. He fears that the opposition will lose some of its existing positions in the elections, and he does not rule out a large Fidesz victory.
The event was supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
Republikon is funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed at this event do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. They are not the responsibility of the European Union or the organisation providing the funding.
