In a video on Facebook, he called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban to "hold a new election and give Hungarians back the right to make a decision".

"We have no more time to waste, a new election and a new mandate is needed," he said.

He called for early election to be held as soon as possible "because we have no more time to waste, Hungarians do not have another year, they cannot retreat further".
 

Magyar said that in 2008 Orban had called for early election, urging the government of the time to move away in the interest of the country. "For the ruling party at the time, its own prosperity was more important than the interests of the country," he said, adding that "you have since become Ferenc Gyurcsany", referring to the prime minister at the time.

"Enough of the propaganda of hatred, of warmongering, lies and throwing money around," he said.

He said 2025 would be dedicated to hope and "we will claim back our home country from the 3,000 people who currently enjoy the fruits of hatred and division, and who laugh contemptuously from the success of another smear campaign".

"We Hungarians will move away from the hatred and division forced upon us, and will show that love is stronger than hate," he said.

"With the help of well-meaning and decent Hungarian people, we will be able to build a new Hungary," the Tisza leader added.

He said it would be "a country where families are able to make a decent living from their income, where the government is not ruling over the people, where there is no place for abuse of power, and the operation of the government is not based on all-pervasive corruption".

He added that it would be a country "where health care, education and state administration again serve the wellbeing of the people, where our children get quality education and still enjoy themselves, where the administration of justice functions again and all offenders will be called to account, where our elderly fellow countrymen can spend their well-deserved old years with their families in a predictable way, with access to quality health services.

A country that our Hungarian brothers and sisters from abroad can continue to rely on, where everybody can be proud of their origins, their religion, their cultural heritage, and where everyone can advance regardless of the environment they were born into," he added.

"We Hungarians will reach out to each other, to everyone, also to Fidesz supporters, left-wingers, and liberals." he said.

Magyar: Tisza Party 'switching to campaign mode'

Tisza Party leader Peter Magyar has declared the second half of April as a "realistic" target period to hold an early general election, saying that the opposition party will switch to "campaign mode" from Jan 6.

In a statement on Thursday, Magyar said the number of unique views of his New Year's speech had reached 2 million. "Tisza's message has reached the vast majority of our compatriots," he added in the statement.

If Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not balk at the initiative, then an early elections "could realistically take place in the second half of April," the statement said.

He said Tisza was stepping up the process of selecting 106 individual parliamentary candidates and finalising the party's governing manifesto.

"The stakes are huge for the future of our families and our country," he said, appealing to supporters to "contribute financially, as volunteers and as experts, according to their capabilities..."

Magyar also said his party would "represent every Hungarian as equals, regardless of origin or party affiliation", adding that: "The homeland comes first."

Kocsis: 'Brussels impatient, not Magyar'

Mate Kocsis, the group leader of ruling Fidesz, rejected Tisza leader Peter Magyar's call for early elections, adding: "It isn't Peter Magyar who is impatient to hold early elections but his handlers in Brussels."

Responding to Magyar's speech on New Year's Eve, Kocsis said that Tisza "can't seriously want early elections, seeing as they can't even run at the by-elections in Dombovar next week".

"It is Manfred Weber et al who want to put their hands on Hungary; they are very much bothered by the sovereigntist Hungarian government and by its obstruction of their idiotic and dangerous plans. We are in their way... They're impatient; they are the ones who want to topple the government as soon as possible...", Kocsis said.

Kocsis said Hungarian voters in past elections had decided on Hungary's direction and would do so again in 2026.

​​​​​​​Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.