{"id":10766,"date":"2026-04-09T09:22:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/10766\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:22:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:22:16","slug":"between-budapest-and-brussels-peter-magyars-political-tightrope-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/10766\/","title":{"rendered":"Between Budapest and Brussels: P\u00e9ter Magyar\u2019s political tightrope"},"content":{"rendered":"

P\u00e9ter Magyar has worked so hard to avoid being labelled a \u201cBrussels puppet\u201d by his rival Viktor Orb\u00e1n that he\u2019s barely been seen in Brussels at all.<\/p>\n

The leader of Tisza, Hungary\u2019s main opposition party, has largely treated his MEP role as a platform to confront the country\u2019s current Prime Minister and boost his campaign in Budapest ahead of the April 12 elections.<\/p>\n

Yet, since he was elected an MEP in 2024, Magyar never drafted any parliamentary report; he signed only one resolution in a chamber that produces dozens each month, and, according to many colleagues, rarely attended committee sessions.<\/p>\n

Magyar\u2019s last appearance was in Strasbourg in January, when he voted in favour of referring the EU-Mercosur trade deal to the Court of Justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears that his participation in plenary votes is indeed rather low, around 21% since the beginning of the term,” said Doru Frantescu, an analyst from the EU Matrix, a think tank that provides insights and data on the EU institutions. “This means that he focused on internal politics not only recently, but even before.”<\/p>\n

The MEP on a Mission<\/p>\n

This reflects a clear mission: from the outset, Magyar has prioritised unseating Orb\u00e1n after 16 years of largely unchallenged rule.<\/p>\n

To that end, the European Parliament has functioned as a springboard for his campaign launch, granting him immunity while also enabling him to forge alliances ahead of the crucial vote.<\/p>\n

This momentum was already evident in the June 2024 European elections when Magyar captured 30 % of the votes with a party founded a few months before. Soon after, the European People\u2019s Party embraced Tisza\u2019s seven MEPs, bringing them into the continent\u2019s largest political bloc.<\/p>\n

With polls suggesting he is on track to win, Magyar\u2019s campaign has intensified in recent months, forcing him to focus on rallies and campaign events in Hungary rather than in Brussels.<\/p>\n

In addition, Magyar is far from alone – many MEPs have historically used the European Parliament to advance national campaigns. In his case, however, a vast majority of MEPs support Magyar as the best alternative to Orb\u00e1n, who has become Brussels\u2019 nemesis, blocking key EU files with his vetoes.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, the Parliament has helped Magyar raise his political profile both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

The only clash between Orban and him took place in the Strasbourg plenary during Hungary\u2019s EU Council presidency, In October 2024. Following Orban\u2019s customary address to MEPs, Magyar took the floor to accuse him of turning Hungary into the EU’s poorest and most corrupt member state.<\/p>\n

The exchange did not end there. Magyar later approached Orb\u00e1n, and the two men shook hands\u2014a photo that quickly went viral, casting Magyar in a favourable light as he appeared energetic next to Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

Yet an MEP\u2019s role is meant to balance European and national responsibilities, a balance that has shifted in recent years as many MEPs spend more time in Brussels and take a more active role in shaping EU policies.<\/p>\n

After all, the Treaties clearly define MEP\u2019s duties as playing a \u201ckey role in shaping EU rules as they amend and vote on legislative proposals put forward by the European Commission and negotiate the final text with the Council representing EU countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lawyer by profession, Magyar was appointed member of two influential committees – Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI). Yet, he has not been involved in any report drafted by these committees.<\/p>\n

He has signed just one resolution\u2014on women\u2019s rights in Iraq\u2014and submitted a single written question to the Commission regarding land confiscation practices tied to the historic Bene\u0161 decrees in Slovakia, affecting Hungarian minorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not much to say, as I have never seen him,\u201d one MEP who sits in a committee with Magyar told Euronews. Another one confirmed that Magyar\u2019s work at committee level \u201chas been greatly missed,\u201d because of his campaign commitments in Hungary.<\/p>\n

Contacted by Euronews, many members of Tisza declined to comment on Magyar’s work in the parliament due to the political sensitivity surrounding the Hungarian elections. Others, however, argue that Magyar\u2019s opposition to Orb\u00e1n places him in an unprecedented position compared with other MEPs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a routine campaign, it\u2019s a system-defining election where Hungary\u2019s very EU membership is at stake, and it demands P\u00e9ter Magyar\u2019s full attention,\u201d a Parliament official close to the Tisza Party told Euronews, claiming that physical absence from Brussels does not mean disengagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe remains fully involved in all key decisions. When high-stakes choices arise, particularly on voting positions, he often joins discussions directly,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n

Another official said that without his parliamentary immunity, \u201che would have had problems getting to this point.\u201d Hungarian authorities requested Magyar\u2019s immunity to be lifted in three different legal cases, but the Parliament rejected<\/a> the requests by a large majority.<\/p>\n

Within the EPP, Magyar\u2019s absence is noticed but generally accepted.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never participates in the group meetings,\u201d an EPP official told Euronews, adding that it was mostly Zolt\u00e1n Tarr, the head of Tisza\u2019s delegation in the Parliament who represents the party in all the group\u2019s political discussions in Brussels or Strasbourg.<\/p>\n

EPP officials acknowledge that the group\u2019s leadership has tolerated Magyar\u2019s limited involvement in group activities, viewing support for an EPP party\u2019s electoral success in Hungary as a higher priority.<\/p>\n

Walking a tightrope in Brussels<\/p>\n

While Tisza is seen as more pro-European than Orb\u00e1n\u2019s Fidesz, Magyar has been careful to avoid political positioning in Brussels that might be unpopular at home, seeking to counter Orb\u00e1n\u2019s narrative of him as a \u201cBrussels puppet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orb\u00e1n has accused Tisza of representing the EU\u2019s and Ukraine\u2019s interests, a claim that Magyar rejects.<\/p>\n

For Tisza, Ukraine\u2019s potential accession to the EU is a particularly sensitive issue: although it is supported by most of the European Parliament, including the EPP, many of its voters remain sceptical.<\/p>\n

A similar tension exists regarding the EU and the EPP\u2019s commitment to increasing support for Ukraine. In February 2026, Tisza MEPs voted against the EU\u2019s proposed \u20ac90 billion loan to Ukraine, aligning with Orb\u00e1n\u2019s decision to veto it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTisza’s margin of maneuver is limited. Having a diametrically opposite position to that of Fidesz would not be popular among a large part of the electorate,\u201d Frantescu said. \u201cThey have to carefully balance between the position of the EPP and that of the current public opinion back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

On issues like migration and the environment, Tisza acts as a bridge, largely aligning with its European political family while maintaining proximity to Fidesz\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n

\u201cEU and Hungary need a strong external border protection and we should fight together against illegal migration. I do not agree with the redistribution of asylum seekers across Europe,\u201d Magyar told Euronews in an interview in October 2024, a few months after his election as MEP.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A campaign poster shows P\u00e9ter Magyar, the leader of opposition, as a two-faced man, commanded by the EU – Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved <\/p>\n

At times, efforts to appeal to the Hungarian electorate have created friction between Tisza and other parties within the EPP group.<\/p>\n

Tisza has defied the EPP group’s stance three times recently, prompting <\/a>internal sanctions. Its MEPs voted against the EU-Mercosur trade deal, citing the need to defend Hungarian farmers’ interests, a move that led Tisza\u2019s lawmakers to be banned from speaking at plenary sessions for six-month.<\/p>\n

Another sensitive issue is Tisza\u2019s effort to distance itself from EPP chair Manfred Weber and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, both depicted negatively by the Hungarian government and frequently shown alongside Magyar in Fidesz\u2019s campaign posters.<\/p>\n

This positioning is reflected in its parliamentary behaviour: Tisza MEPs did not support <\/a>von der Leyen in the last vote of confidence<\/a> in January, a move widely seen as intentional.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thankful for the confirmation from Brussels that Tisza politicians have no owners,” Magyar wrote on Facebook at the time, signalling that his commitment to EPP and EU principles has consistently been secondary to domestic opinion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"P\u00e9ter Magyar has worked so hard to avoid being labelled a \u201cBrussels puppet\u201d by his rival Viktor Orb\u00e1n…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[18,299,326,7376,938,1039,57],"class_list":{"0":"post-10766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brussels","8":"tag-brussels","9":"tag-european-parliament","10":"tag-hungary","11":"tag-mep","12":"tag-peter-magyar","13":"tag-tisza","14":"tag-viktor-orban"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116374021318354347","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}