Hungarian opposition leader and MEP Peter Magyar clashed with Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the European Parliament on October 9, after the Hungarian premier presented the goals of his country's rotating EU presidency to lawmakers and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The debate was highly anticipated, as it marked the first occasion for the up and coming head of the Tisza Party to confront the prime minister directly. The event had been scheduled for September but was postponed due to the floods then affecting Central Europe.

Magyar's centre-right Tisza Party, formed mere months ago, has rapidly become Hungary's second-largest party after Orban's Fidesz, securing 30% of the popular vote in June and sending seven representatives to the European Parliament (EP). Tisza MEPs joined the European People's Party (EPP), the same faction that moved to oust  Fidesz party in 2020.

Before the session began, Magyar approached Orban's bench and offered a handshake, which Orban accepted after a brief hesitation. Some observers characterised this as a historic moment between the veteran leader and his challenger.

Magyar, the second EPP speaker in the debate, delivered a campaign-style speech highlighting serious shortcomings in Hungary under Orban's 14-year reign. The 43-year-old former Fidesz member declared that the last two decades, under both former premier Ferenc Gyurcsany and Viktor Orban, "were years of missed opportunities", leading to Hungary becoming "the poorest and most corrupt" country in the European Union.

He turned to the prime minister, saying he "had had every opportunity over the last 14 years to make Hungary a land of fulfilled promises".

Magyar accused Orbán of fantasising about economic neutrality while ignoring the problems of Hungarians, who, according to him, are facing a social, demographic, and economic crisis. He pointed out that birth rates are at a 60-year low, and public services are deteriorating, with the closure of rural railways, post offices, and maternity wards, while education and healthcare are crumbling. The minimum wage is now higher not only in Slovenia and Poland, but also in Romania, while Hungary faces record inflation in the EU, and Hungarians pay the highest VAT rates.

"Our ancestors fought for centuries for our country's independence and sovereignty and to make Hungary a part of Europe," Magyar said. "An overwhelming majority of Hungarians voted to join Nato and the EU, and if they had to vote today, they would say the same thing."

While he agreed with Orbán on the importance of protecting the EU's external borders, Magyar criticised the government for releasing human traffickers from prison, while Orbán's oligarchs were involved in golden visa schemes for rich foreigners. Earlier this year, the government released some 2,000 convicted smugglers from prison, citing poor conditions in penitentiaries. 

Magyar concluded his speech by saying his party would, if elected to power, immediately join the European Public Prosecutor's Office, adopt anti-corruption measures, and bring back HUF 8 trillion of EU funds – referring to funds frozen by the EU due to the Orban government's violation of the rule of law.

"We both know that it is over," Magyar declared. "We are not afraid, and time is working for us." Quoting Pope John Paul II, he said, "Do not be afraid," a slogan that has become one of his party's key messages.

Klara Dobrev, a Hungarian MEP from the centre-left Democratic Coalition, dismissed the Hungarian EU presidency's programme as "unserious and filled with platitudes", accusing Orbán of becoming increasingly detached from reality and aligning with Russia for personal and political gain.

"What is Vladimir Putin doing to blackmail you, prime minister?" she asked Orbán directly.

Fidesz speakers retaliated by attacking Magyar, accusing him of hiding behind his immunity to escape accountability. They referenced allegations that the Tisza Party leader had accosted an individual at a club over the summer and stolen his mobile phone before throwing it into the Danube.

Orban's propaganda machine has ruthlessly exploited Magyar's reportedly rowdy night out, portraying him as someone unable to control his emotions.

As the last speaker of the session, the prime minister repeated the claim that Magyar chose the EP over taking up a seat in the Budapest local council to hide behind an MEP's immunity.