On April 12, Hungarians will vote in the most important European election of 2026. For the first time since Viktor Orban consolidated power in 2010, the prime minister faces a challenger capable of unseating him. Peter Magyar, a former Fidesz insider who broke with the ruling party in 2024, has built the Tisza Party from a protest vehicle into the leading force in Hungarian politics.

A poll by 21 Kutatokozpont, published on April 1, placed Tisza at 56% among decided voters and Fidesz at 37%. The aggregated PolitPro trend puts the gap at roughly 8 points, and even Nezopont Intezet, a pollster with close government ties that has consistently shown Fidesz ahead, concedes the race has tightened.

This is the political backdrop against which a damaging scandal has engulfed Orban’s government.

Leaked audio recordings published this week by a consortium of investigative outlets, including Insider and VSquare, capture Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and other senior........

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