Orbán claims Hungarians need to grant his party authority in order to avoid war

Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán has urged people to vote for his party in the 2026 elections so that the country does not get drawn into a war.

Orbán announced a press conference with representatives of the international press in a few hours and noted that "there will be many topics".

"In the first days of this year, we received an important reminder that the liberal world order is falling apart. The election of President Trump has dealt it a fatal blow," Orbán wrote on Facebook, apparently hinting at events in Venezuela.

He added that the new world is still "in the process of formation", and therefore Hungarians are facing "more unstable, unpredictable and dangerous years".

"In this situation, the Hungarian people must choose a path in April this year. One path leads to a Brussels dead end. It is represented by Tisza [an opposition party – ed.]. In exchange for a few pats on the shoulder and immunity, they will make deals with Brussels and fulfil all of their demands. They will say 'yes' to war, financing Ukraine, settling migrants and gender propaganda," Orbán said.

Instead, he said, his Fidesz party offers Hungarians a path of peace and security.

"We do not want to send Hungarian youth to the front lines and we do not want to destroy the country and the Hungarian economy. We have a plan and an intention to make Hungary the winner of the historical era facing us. To do this, we must first and foremost stay out of the war. For this, we ask the Hungarian people to grant us authority in 2026," Orbán added.

According to Bloomberg, if Orbán's Fidesz party loses the election, he is considering moving to the presidency and trying to change legislation to expand presidential powers.

The opposition party Tisza still has a significant lead in polls over Orbán's Fidesz party, but it is shrinking.

Orbán previously said he is not afraid of losing the next election and also noted that he considers his main opponent not opposition leader Peter Magyar, but Brussels.