Hungary will go to the polls on April 12th, exactly two months from now, in an election that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has framed as a stark choice between national sovereignty and deeper submission to Brussels.
With the governing conservative Fidesz party locked in a tight race with the opposition Tisza Party, the campaign has increasingly become a referendum on Ukraine, the European Union, and Hungary’s place in Europe.
Orbán has made opposition to the war in Ukraine and to Kyiv’s rapid EU accession central to his message. Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Hungary has been the only EU member state to consistently reject EU military aid to Ukraine, instead calling for peace talks.
Budapest has also sought to block increased EU defence spending linked to Ukraine and has firmly opposed proposals to fast-track Kyiv’s accession to the bloc by 2027.
Those concerns have intensified following reports in Brussels that EU officials are considering a form of partial, phased-in EU membership for Ukraine as early as next year, potentially forcing Hungary to drop its veto or face a ‘rule-of-law’ procedure as punishment.
Orbán has warned that Ukrainian membership would inflict serious economic damage on the EU and risk dragging the bloc into direct conflict with Russia. “The stake of the election is whether we are able to stay on a national path that serves our own interests … or we elect a governor-style government that carries out instructions from Brussels,” he said recently.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded a fixed accession date. In a tweet on Wednesday, Zelenskysaid EU membership was a “security guarantee” and insisted, “I want a specific date.” He added that without such a commitment, Russia would seek to block Ukraine’s EU path “through certain European representatives.”
Orbán responded sharply. “Dear Mr. President, you are on the wrong track,” he wrote. “EU accession is a merit-based process. Member States set the conditions—not the candidate countries.”
In a separate post, the Hungarian prime minister warned, “EU accession for Ukraine would not bring peace, it would bring war to Europe. This is not up for debate: Hungary will not finance, arm, or legitimise a threat to its own security.”
The clash comes as Brussels openly acknowledges that Hungary is the main obstacle to Ukraine’s rapid accession, which requires unanimous approval. Some EU diplomats have discussed using Article 7 of the EU treaties to suspend Hungary’s voting rights.
Domestically, Orbán’s main challenger is Péter Magyar, leader of the newly formed Tisza Party, who emerged onto the political scene in 2024. Several left-wing and liberal parties, including Momentum, LMP, and the Socialists, have chosen not to contest the election to maximise Tisza’s chances against Fidesz.
While the governing party’s stance on major issues is clear—including its anti-migration, anti-LGBT-propaganda, anti-war, and Brussels-critical stance—Tisza has avoided taking positions on major issues. Most likely, it does not want to upset some of the left-wing voters that are now supporting Tisza in hope of government change, or the centre-right-liberal European People’s Party, to which Tisza belongs.
According to Fidesz, Péter Magyar will bow to Brussels’ demands as soon as he is elected and will support the mainstream EU line on Ukraine and other issues.
Zoltán Kiszelly of the Budapest-based Századvég Foundation described Tisza as “a globalist political project” and said Brussels’ aim is “to bring Hungary back into line.”
Speaking to europeanconservative.com, he argued that Brussels fears another Fidesz victory could strengthen patriotic movements across Europe.
Hungary is currently slowing down federalisation, the construction of a United States of Europe, and is able to present an attractive alternative to Europeans.
“Reliable numbers show that Fidesz is leading, and even the London bookmakers suggest this,” Kiszelly said, dismissing polls favouring Tisza as a “political communication trick.”
Apart from Fidesz and Tisza, the only parties that have a chance of reaching the 5% threshold and entering parliament are the right-wing nationalist Our Homeland Movement, the neoliberal Democratic Coalition, and the left-liberal Two-Tailed Dog Party.
