Scandal Erupts in Hungary as Opposition Leader Accuses Orban of Wiretapping

The leader of the Hungarian opposition party Tisza has accused Viktor Orban of an elaborate plot to spy on party leadership and staff. According to a press conference held by opposition leader Peter Magyar on November 10th, Orban was aware of a far-reaching plot to gather information about and discredit political opposition to the ruling Fidesz party. Magyar referenced the infamous Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Nixon in 1974, and alleges that a similar degree of wiretapping has occurred in Hungary.

Who is Peter Magyar?

Peter Magyar has quickly risen to fame in Hungary as the primary rival of long-standing prime minister Viktor Orban, who is the longest-serving prime minister in Hungarian history. Magyar is a lawyer who worked as a diplomat for a decade before returning to Hungary in 2018 to serve as a member of Orban's inner circle in the Fidesz party. Magyar left the party after a scandal that involved a presidential pardon being given to the deputy director of a children's home who had covered up child sexual abuse. Following his departure from Fidesz, Magyar began to speak out publicly against what he described as a corrupt and oligarchic political system.

Magyar then went on to publish tapes that implicated Orban-linked officials in the Schadl-Völner case, a far-reaching case that involves widespread corruption in the Hungarian justice system. Soon after releasing these tapes, Magyar launched his political career and achieved a meteoric rise. Magyar and his party Tisza have been able to mobilize a widely apathetic Hungarian youth who have grown disillusioned with what they perceive as a one-party state. For many young Hungarians, only Fidesz politicians have won elections, as the party has been in power with a supermajority since 2010. His clever use of social media and opposition stance has made Magyar widely popular with Hungarians under 35. Tisza's recent increase in popularity represents one of the few challenges to the rule of Orban. Magyar is unique when compared to many other European opposition politicians, as his former position as a Tisza politician gives him unique insight into the workings of the party.