The 15th of March is always a day that politicians can capitalise on as it’s the commemoration of the 1848 Hungarian revolution and rallies with long speeches are the norm. Naturally, both Fidesz and Tisza held big rallies, and in this article we break down some key takeaways.
1. The battle of the crowd size
It’s natural with two political parties battling it out and holding simultaneous events that the crowd size would be compared.
Orbán held his speech at the National Museum (which is the one between Astoria and Kalvin Square). I’ve never understood it as a venue choice because although the backdrop of the museum looks great in pictures, most of the crowd is actually outside of the fence as the museum grounds have a fence around it. When you factor in the room needed for the AV setup and the huge statue in the middle of it all, not many people actually fit inside the gated off area. This creates an “us” on the inside and “them” out on the road situation. The space on the road itself is also limited.
Magyar held his speech on the grand Andrassy Boulevard with crowds reaching from Opera to Oktogon — a 600 metre stretch of road. Although official numbers were not released based on the images it’s clear there were more at Tisza’s event. Fidesz supporters went to great pains on social media to say that basically no one was at the Tisza event, so they must know it too.
2. The vibes
It was a drizzly day so no one’s going to be thrilled to be standing out in the cold, but when you compare photos and videos of the two crowds one is energetic and one looks downright gloomy.
The Fidesz supporters look angry and moody. It’s like they can scarcely believe that their God given right to be in the winning camp is being called into question.
On the other hand, the Tisza supporters seemed joyful and energetic. It’s natural that this would be the case. Tisza is in the upswing phase and Fidesz is on the defensive.
3. Patriotism on full display
One thing that Tisza has been extremely clever in doing is reclaiming patriotic national symbols as those belonging to everyone. Previously Fidesz tried to claim these symbols as its own — equating one political party with the nation.
Tisza encouraged flags and cocades, and Péter came on stage before his speech to lead singing a famous song about the 1848 revolution.
The signage on stage read “Keszuljetek!” – meaning “Get ready!” a call to action so that Tisza supporters know they have to leap into action in the coming 12 months until the election. Another sign on stage read “Now or never!” with the “or ever” crossed out in red, again creating a sense of urgency and motion.
Behind Péter were also women riding on horses — a screen grab from the video described below. Tisza needs to do better with women and this is a not-so-subtle reminder about the role women play in building a nation.
4. Tisza's kitsch video
To advertise the March 15th rally, Tisza produced a video that is not my style at all but I get how some people like it. The video talks about the theft and corruption of the Fidesz government, and how we the people have to rise up and take back the land. An example of the lyrics include:
Their mansions stand on looted gold,
Built from the treasures that they stole.
It’s time to rise, we must be strong,
We’ve nothing left, so let’s move on!
The video has everything sweeping images of the Hungarian landscape, drums, face paint, women on horses, crosses, flags, flares, and Hungarians from all walks of life coming to the capital to take back the country. At the end, one of the stone lions that sit guard at the ends of Chain Bridge stands up and roars – that was cool.
5. Péter's girlfriend rides in on a horse
It was actually a cool thing to do — although also a bit naff. Péter’s girlfriend rode in to the front of the rally on a horse as if they’d jumped out of the video and onto the stage. I kind of liked it as a bit of a gimmick, and I’m surprised it didn’t get more attention.
6. Péter wins the fashion stakes
Showing his ability to always keep people guessing, Péter wore a traditional Hungarian jacket with a cord design on the front as opposed to a suit jacket. He later said it was made by a tailor specifically for him, and similar to a “Bocskai” that was worn by noblemen in times gone-by. It was also a navy blue colour which really suited his skin tone and the backdrop. It looked serious but also touching, and it was a unifying symbol that reminds people that Tisza wants to represent all Hungarians.
On the other hand, Viktor Orbán wore a heavy long black coat which didn’t have the friendliness of Péter’s coat. I hate it when he wears that mid-length black coat as it makes him look like Kim Jong Un. And he wore his Fidesz orange tie. For a national celebration that’s mean to bring the people together, his tie was a party political choice and I don’t think it’s right.
7. Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi takes to the stage
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
8. Orbán calls voters bugs
Orbán kicks it off by calling Hungarians he doesn’t like “stink bugs”. Here’s the quote: “After today’s commemorative gathering comes Easter spring cleaning: The stink bugs have overwintered. We will dismantle the financial machinery that used corrupt dollars to buy politicians, judges, journalists, fake civil organisations, and political activists.”
So much for unifying the nation. He tried to clean it up afterwards by saying he was only referring to Péter — as if that makes it better, but alas that plural is right there in black and white.
9. Péter leads the crowd in a song
Péter can’t sing very well – I’m no expert but I think it’s that he sings out of key. Anyway, it’s kind of endearing that he can’t sing but he regularly does anyway. It’s a feature of many of his speeches that he’ll end with getting the crowd to sing a couple of Hungarian songs. It’s a bonding moment and also reminds people of his patriotic bona fides. After all, the “Libs” wouldn’t be caught dead doing this type of thing!
Anyway, Péter sings a song about the 1848 revolution before his speech. I’m not normally one for this type of thing, but in his outfit and waving the flag, it’s very touching, and I teared up a little bit.
10. Péter's speech has some zingers
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
11. Tisza launches The Nation's Voice
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
1. Do you agree with introducing a new Pensioner Card that is loaded with 200,000 forints per year that can be spent on purchasing food, medicine or healthcare?
2. Do you agree with reducing the VAT rate on medicines to 0 percent?
3. Do you agree that the State should not use budgetary funds to support private healthcare investments, and should instead allocate at least 500 billion forints annually to develop the public healthcare system?
4. Do you agree that the recovered stolen national wealth should be spent on education, healthcare, and rural development?
5. Do you agree that the VAT on healthy foods should be capped at 5 percent?
6. Do you agree that the personal income tax rate should be uniformly reduced to 9 percent?
7. Do you agree that the KATA tax system should be reintroduced?
8. Do you agree that there should be an additional tax on wealth exceeding 5 billion forints?
9. Do you agree that Hungary should remain a member of the European Union and NATO?
10. Do you agree that a Prime Minister should be allowed to serve for a maximum of two terms and up to eight years in total?
11. Do you agree that local governments should regain their jurisdiction, control of institutions, and funds in the areas of education, healthcare, and social welfare?
12. Do you agree that the Prime Minister’s monthly salary should be capped at 2.5 million forints, and the salaries of Members of Parliament should be halved?
+1 Do you support Ukraine becoming a member of the European Union?
12. Digital crowd sizes
On Viktor Orbán’s channel his March 15th speech has 101,000 views as at April 6 when this article was last updated. In the same time period, the video of Tisza’s March 15th commemorations posted on Péter Magyar’s channel has 387,000 views. On the ATV YouTube channel their upload of Tisza’s program got 272,000 views in that time period. This speaks to the point about energy, interest and momentum I made in point 1 above.
13. Kriszta Bodis takes to the stage
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Other articles you might like...
Quick explainer: Zebra-gate
If you’re wondering what a zebra has to do with the Orban vs Magyar election campaign you’ve come to the right place.
Je suis poloska!? What the bug is going on?
Discover why everyone in Hungary is talking about the stink bug AKA “poloska” and what it means for Viktor Orban.
2024 was Orbán’s annus horribilis
Queen Elizabeth II called 1992 her annus horribilis. Here’s why Orban may feel the same way about 2024.