Hungarian state TV has first election debate in 18 years

The last debate in which Hungarian politicians, including candidates from Fidesz, engaged in a public discussion took place nearly 20 years ago. Now, in a near-historic event, candidates for the European Parliamentary elections have met to discuss issues such as the defence of the EU and migration. While significant, the event brought no major surprises overall.

The last political debate—between then Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and opposition candidate Viktor Orbán—was held on Hungarian state TV in 2006, just days before the parliamentary elections. Since then, 18 years have passed without a single election debate involving Fidesz list leaders.

Ahead of the 2024 European Parliament elections, the 11 list leaders met on Thursday evening to discuss four pre-planned topics. Overall, as reported by 24.hu and ATV, the debate produced no major surprises, and no one politician emerged as a definitive winner.

Telex summed up the night: “You simply cannot have a debate with 11 participants. […] There was too little time for each list leader, and the predetermined topics meant that there was no chance for the candidates to react to each other. True, at the end, everyone was given one minute to react, but that one minute per candidate was woefully short of allowing a meaningful exchange of views.”

Instead of a dialogue, the candidates delivered monologues, with no opportunity for responses. In their opening remarks, many opposition members criticised the way the debate was conducted.

Protecting the European Union

The first topic was the defence of the EU. LMP’s lead candidate, Péter Ungár, said the EU would only become a global power if a common European army were created.

In her speech, the leader of the DK-MSZP-Párbeszéd coalition, Klára Dobrev, said, “On this channel, the truth is not often heard: that the shame of Europe is called Viktor Orbán.” She stressed that Orbán could not represent the interests of Hungarians, and responding to the governing party’s propaganda, she said no one wants to send young people to war, adding,

“anyone who says otherwise is lying.”

Similarly, Péter Márki-Zay, leader of the Everybody’s Hungary People’s Party (Mindenki Magyarországa Néppárt), emphasised that just because something is said a hundred times a day on public television, it does not make it true. Nobody wants war in Hungary, he stressed.

Anna Donáth, the first name on Momentum’s list of candidates, highlighted that common EU values, such as the freedom to decide on one’s end of life, need to be part of discussions about defending the European Union. Therefore, Momentum supports the legalisation of active euthanasia in Hungary, mentioning the case of ALS patient and constitutional lawyer Dániel Karsai.

Fidesz MEP Tamás Deutsch asked his debate partners: “You say there are no pro-war ‘dollar-left’ representatives? Then how come they voted for all the pro-war proposals in the EP?”

Péter Magyar, leader of the Tisza Party’s EP list, also said it was a lie that anyone who doesn’t vote for Fidesz is pro-war. He argued that every sensible Hungarian rejects war. He criticised the government for sending soldiers to Chad and endangering Hungarian security.

Comedian Imre Tóth, aka Bruti, representing the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party, said they are not “fighting dogs,” and therefore do not want war. He joked that a fence should surround Brussels. “To quote János Lázár: the bureaucrats living on cocaine there should not be able to get out, climb out or slip down various drain pipes. Dear Tamás Deutsch, I apologise for Lázár’s words, but he probably didn’t mean you when he said ‘the bureaucrats living on cocaine’ – that is, the bureaucrat part,” he quipped.

Migration and guest workers

The second topic discussed was migration. Viktor Huszár, a politician from the Solution Movement (Megoldás Mozgalom), said the key issue for the country is Hungarian emigration. According to Péter Ungár, people have always moved to live elsewhere since the beginning of time.

Dobrev stated that state media constantly lies by claiming Orbán protects people and jobs by not allowing migrants into the country, while in reality, more than 21,000 people involved in human trafficking have been released from prison, and over 120,000 guest workers have been brought into the country by Fidesz.