Hungary’s governing Tisza Party is preparing to launch a new online platform called Közhang, promising to give people a direct say in national and local issues and allow them to track what happens to their proposals. The name has a curious connection to Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s past: he appeared on an ATV programme of the same name as a young man in 2002.

A new platform for public participation

Tisza Party vice-president Márk Radnai announced that Közhang – described as Hungary’s first community-based social consultation platform – will launch soon.

According to Radnai, the initiative is intended to take the party’s campaign promise of “writing Hungary’s future together” to a new level. The platform will offer continuous social dialogue, with a focus on understandable information, education, transparency and traceability.

The concept is designed to cover both national and local issues. Users will reportedly be able to present their arguments and opinions and follow how a proposal develops – including whether it eventually becomes an actual decision or change.

“Together we write Hungary’s future. But to do this, we now have to take it to the next level,” Radnai said in a Facebook post announcing the initiative.

The website, which is currently not yet operational, displays several slogans, including that it is “Hungary’s first social consultation platform” and encourages users to “not just watch the future, but shape it”.

The site also promises: “Hungary’s future is our common cause” and says the platform will launch soon.

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A permanent national consultation?

The concept could represent a significant new channel for public participation under the Tisza government. The platform’s promise of continuous consultation, transparent information and the ability to track how citizens’ suggestions are handled has already prompted comparisons with a permanent version of Hungary’s national consultations.

The website’s domain was reportedly registered by a private individual in January. Radnai has previously been given responsibility for bringing public opinion into government decision-making. In May, Magyar announced the establishment of the Institute for a Functioning and Humane Hungary (MEMI), with Radnai appointed as the government commissioner responsible for the initiative.

At the time, Radnai said the institute would be politically independent and would aim to organise broad public participation without serving party-political interests. Its budget is to be provided by the state.

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The curious connection to Péter Magyar’s past

The name Közhang is not entirely new to Hungarian audiences. According to Telex, it was previously used by an ATV programme hosted by journalist László Juszt. There is also an unexpected personal connection for the prime minister.

In June 2002, a young Péter Magyar appeared on the programme alongside Ágoston Sámuel Mráz, who later became known as a prominent political analyst. The two discussed former Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy’s past and the handling of Hungary’s communist-era agent affairs.

More than two decades later, the name of the programme is being revived for a platform that the Tisza Party says will give citizens a greater role in shaping political decisions.

Whether Közhang will become a major new mechanism for public participation or effectively function as a permanent national consultation will become clearer once the platform officially launches.

Watch the 2002 programme below: