Tünde Nagy-BántóLess than 2 weeks until the parliamentary #elections in #Hungary, and though it gets remarkable international coverage (even by John Oliver 😻), was thinking that maybe adding more context and highlighting the most relevant stories would prove helpful.
The latest #polling results published by #Medián (field work 17 - 20 March), the other agencies have similar figures.
Opposition party #Tisza will probably win the elections, the real question left is how big their victory will be. The electoral system has been modified, tilted, skewed and distorted by #Orbán to such a degree that even with a narrow victory a party can get a supermajority in Parliament.
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#választás2026
🎧 Warmly recommend this short but very nuanced & insightful Gideon Rachman interview with Zsuzsanna Végh from the German Marshall Fund: great summary about the key drivers of the upcoming Hungarian #elections, what is at stake and what might come afterwards.
In the #podcast description there are some free links to further #FT articles about #Hungary, those are also highly recommended.
Of the #FinancialTimes articles recommended above I would like to highlight their flagship report about Orbán’s oligarchs, with emphasis on how insignificant these people were (especially Mészáros) prior to #Orbán coming to power, and how much wealth they accumulated within a short timeframe by hijacking state and EU funds.
Catherine Belton @ #WaPo wrote about Russia’s intensive meddling in Hungary’s #elections e.g. by contemplating a staged assassination against #Orbán to keep him in power.
She also highlighted HU foreign minister #Szijjártó shamelessly leaking to and coordinating with Lavrov at #EU meetings, as well as how Orbán’s “wallets” enriched themselves through Russian gas deals.
Some planned disinformation campaigns are also detailed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/03/21/hungary-election-interference-russia-orban/
Meanwhile in #Hungary what keeps the nation (or a part of it) hooked on the news is a stunning Watergate-like story unfolding with absolutely unbelievable turns and twists.
A National Bureau of Investigation #whistleblower went public last week with a story centred around a 19-year-old IT kid working for the opposition party #Tisza, who first was manipulated by the secret service, and later was accused, raided and interrogated for child pornography.
https://www.direkt36.hu/en/megszolal-a-nyomozo-aki-belulrol-ismeri-a-tisza-elleni-muvelet-ugyet/
Detective with inside knowledge of the operation against Tisza Party speaks up - Direkt36
Direkt36 recorded an interview with a police detective who worked in the department involved in the investigation against the Tisza IT specialists. In the interview, Bence Szabó spoke in detail about how the secret service had pressured them within the police force. Early Wednesday morning, Szabó was charged with abuse of office, and his home was searched.