Hungary: a new rival for Orbán?
A new party has emerged to challenge Viktor Orbán. On Hungary's bank holiday on Friday, Péter Magyar announced the founding of a centrist party in front of tens of thousands of supporters. The ex-husband of Fidesz politician Judit Varga, who resigned amid a scandal over pardons, says he wants to end Fidesz's rule and campaign for a "modern, European Hungary".
Relevant and promising
Péter Magyar has what it takes to sow uncertainty in the Fidesz camp as well, comments journalist Szabolcs Szerető in Magyar Hang:
“Magyar defeated the head of government on his own playing field, and not just in terms of public interest; the decisive element here was his fresh message, just as it was with Orbán in 1998. What Magyar said contained little that was new compared to what we have already heard from the opposition. But in contrast to Orbán's speech it was relevant to the times and valid. What comes of this, however, remains to be seen. ... I have the feeling that doubts have arisen in all camps, including Orbán's own: after the recent developments, does the future still belong to Viktor Orbán?”
No real competition
The opposition is once again rallying around another supposed rising star who will have no chance with the voters, predicts the pro-government daily Mandiner:
“There is only one group that cannot let go of Péter Magyar: a hard core of the opposition that hovers above the parties and has always been willing to put its faith in any messiah who comes along, regardless of the number of failures. They simply can't accept that they don't need another narcissistic messiah to replace Viktor Orbán; they need a political option that is genuinely better than what Orbán has to offer. ... If the Hungarian voters had wanted a one-man messianic project, they would have voted for one of the eight previous ones. But they didn't.”
Sick and tired of prophets
What people like about Magyar is probably his complete lack of charisma, journalist Zoltán Batka comments in Népszava:
“I would venture to say that Péter Magyar's unexpected success lies in his uninteresting, grey profile. Hungary is like a block of flats in which the roof has been leaking for years. But the person in charge won't call a repairman but instead babbles about rain predictions and visions of the block next door plotting against him. ... The majority of the population have been fed up for some time and would go on the barricades to get a grey administrator who simply knows how to fix roofs instead of making pathetic predictions and spouting visions.”