Magyar: The Tisza Party is going to win this election, not by a small margin, but by a huge one

Around the time when the government’s commemoration of the 1956 revolution, dubbed a Peace March was wrapping up at Budapest’s Kossuth square in the early afternoon on 23 October, another march and another commemoration was beginning not too far from there.

Participants of the Tisza Party's National March walked from central Budapest to Heroes' Square. Similarly to the Peace March, those at the front of the procession were also carrying a banner, but their message couldn’t be more different than the one at the other event. This one read "1956: revolution, 2026: regime change". Shortly after they arrived at one of the city’s most scenic squares, the leader of the country’s strongest opposition force, Péter Magyar gave a speech to the thousands who filled the square and some of the surrounding area.

When describing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Tisza Party's president said that

36 years ago, Orbán was a young man who rebelled against the Russians but has since become “the Kremlin’s most loyal ally."

During his speech, the crowd repeatedly interrupted him with chants of “Russians go home!” In Magyar's opinion, every leader who fights against his own people will eventually have their "Kádár-like" moment, and the Prime Minister has now reached the point where he has become the new János Kádár (the politician who led Hungary for 32 years during communism).

In his speech filled with historical recollections, Magyar emphasized the importance of love and reconciliation, stressing that today no one is right-wing or left-wing, but all are Hungarian. "We do not need change based on anger and revenge, but a proud, yet decisive change of regime," he said. By initiating a symbolic 56 seconds of silence during which participants were called on to hold hands, he announced a national reconciliation, which, if they came to power, would immediately turn into law, so that "the wounds inflicted on each other could begin to heal and the restoration of trust could start." He also announced his party’s next, "most important yet" tour of the country, which has been named “The Road to Victory.”

Below are the eight most powerful quotes and thoughts from Péter Magyar's speech:

• "Every leader who has lost who they are and has turned against their own people will face their Kádár moment, and it is up to them to decide whether they will step aside in good time and retreat to the solitude of their study, or face public humiliation. The majority of Hungarians know and feel that 36 years after 1989, it would be better if it didn't take another national tragedy for the new Kádár – who has been tormenting our souls with poison – to settle accounts with his conscience."
• "The spirit of 1956 was revived on this square in 1989, when a young man took to the steps of the Art Gallery and expressed what many of us were longing for. He said: if we believe in our own strength, we are capable of putting an end to communist dictatorship. That young man was Viktor Orbán. Thirty-six years have passed since then, and today it is difficult not to notice the tragic irony of this. The politician who once demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops is now the Kremlin's most loyal ally."
• “Although Balázs Orbán's role models betrayed the revolution, the flame of freedom could not be extinguished and it still burns within us today. The heroes of '56 were not flawless, and they were not all born to be revolutionaries. Many were afraid, many remained silent, and some compromised with the authorities. But when history came knocking on their door, they realized that love for their homeland was worth more than any previous decision. This message holds true today.”
• "We are not right-wing or left-wing. Today, we are Hungarians. Regardless of whether we attended the National March or the Peace March. Whether we are remembering at home with our families or quietly, alone. We are all Hungarians. We are connected by something stronger than any power: our love for our country.”
• “This homeland belongs to the Hungarian people, to those who are working, raising children, teaching, healing, and caring for their children and parents. To those who don't ask for much, just a functioning country. And it is this homeland we are now reclaiming.”
• “In the Carmelite (former monastery which has served as the PM's office complex since its renovation – ed), they may believe that Hungary’s future will be decided by the propaganda disseminated by those in power and their apparatus for smear campaigns. We are sending our message from the place where it all began in 1956, where the people tore down the statue of the dictator. We are sending the message that history is not decided in castles or at manors, or on private jets or yachts. The fate of the Hungarian people is not to be decided in Brussels, nor in Washington or Moscow. History is written by the Hungarian people: Hungarian people in Hungarian squares and Hungarian streets, when they choose hope over fear and set out together, clinging to each other."
• "It has fallen upon us to join hands, turn to each other and reunite this nation. So now I'd like to ask you all to join hands. Let us bow our heads and in silence remember the heroes of the revolution for 56 seconds. May this moment also mark the beginning of a new national reconciliation.”
• “East or West, corruption or integrity, the Turkish Council or Europe? Propaganda or truth? Inhumanity or humanity? A colony or a free Hungary? Fidesz or Tisza? If we are to build the kind of country our ancestors gave their lives and their blood for, we must win the election in 2026. And yes, you all know it, and those in power are terrified because they know it too: this election will be won by the humane Hungary and the Tisza Party. Not by a small margin, but by a huge one."