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He said this was the case not because of treaties or legal clauses, but “because our destiny and our ancestors’ legacy place us there: we are Hungarians in Europe who want to live in peace.”
“As Hungarians, we reject war and violence, and we consign fearmongering and warmongering to the past,” he told the crowd. “We are not afraid! We have learned from our ancestors that nothing lasts forever,” he added.
Magyar argued that 1848 was about a fundamental choice: “to be slaves or free, serfs or landowners, to have our fate dictated by others or to control it ourselves, to be ruled by power or to wield it, to be subjects or citizens.”
He insisted that Hungarians wanted to be free, to live freely, and to decide their own destiny, not to have “the emperor, the landlord or county prefect” decide people’s fates, but “a freely elected Hungarian parliament”.
Magyar declared that Tisza sought an end to handed-down privileges, and to ensure equality before the law, shared responsibility, genuine press freedom, and no censorship.
“The question then was the same as it is today: are we subjects, or are we citizens?” he said.
Magyar said 1848 belonged to all Hungarians, because freedom was the ancestral right of every Hungarian, regardless of origin or home. “They were all Hungarians, all heroes, bound by an invisible thread — the love of their homeland — and this same bond unites every Hungarian today, centuries later.”
He said that while the decision of “our ancestors” had been clear and resolute, the fight for freedom and national independence must be waged again and again. “Millions of our forebears gave their lives and blood for a free, European Hungary,” he said.
Magyar accused “the man of the past” of deceiving freedom-seeking Hungarians for too long. “He has lied to our faces, betrayed us, and cynically exploited our nation’s desire to finally become free Hungarian citizens — yet he never truly intended it,” he said.
“His words and promises have been nothing but political products. He has never wanted conscious citizens, only subjects who would not talk back, who could be kept in fear and manipulated, just as his Turkish, Austrian, and communist predecessors did.”
He described Hungarians as “stubborn, future-building citizens” who repeatedly rose to the challenge because they knew this is their only path. “We affirm the message of 1848 and choose freedom over slavery. We will be citizens, not subjects,” he declared.
A citizen, he said, was entitled to the best possible state health care, the best education, protection from polluting factories and “paedophile monsters and all criminals”, fair wages, dignified pensions, the freedom to think and do business without discrimination, respect for the law, not rule by it, and security from theft and slander for holding different views.
Magyar pledged that a Tisza Party government, formed in spring 2026, would work to secure EU funds for Hungary, introduce a fair tax system, develop healthcare, and impose a wealth tax on billionaires.
“We will establish the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office on the ruins of the Moscow-directed Sovereignty Protection Office, tasked with uncovering the crimes of the past 20 years,” he announced. “Hungary will no longer be a country without consequences: those who have stolen from the common goods will be punished.”
He alleged that Viktor Orbán had invited “the most skilled Russian agents” to interfere in elections and strip Hungarians of their most sacred possession — the freedom for which their ancestors died. “Orban’s regime offers only lies, deception, and incitement,” he claimed.
Magyar asserted that the Hungarian people would not tolerate the loss of their freedom, and he promised a victory on April 12 so resounding it would be visible “not just from the moon, but from the Kremlin”.
The politician also said that in addition to “betraying free and civil Hungary”, Orbán was guilty of a “third betrayal”: choosing national division over unity, despite having every opportunity to end Hungary’s era of strife after 2010. “Orban is a traitor who betrayed our shared future. He built not a country, but a fiefdom, turning Hungary into the EU’s poorest and most corrupt state,” he said.
Rejecting war, Magyar stated that only “the man of the past” wanted conflict, and pledged that a Tisza government would be one of peace. With 28 days until the election, he cast the vote as a referendum on Hungary’s place in the world and how its people wished to live. “Those who choose slavery will be left with hatred, division, and fear. Those who choose Tisza will build a functional, humane, European, proud, peaceful, and prosperous Hungary,” he concluded.
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