Hungarians rally for former ally leading the charge against

Péter Magyar’s Tisza party trails the populist leader in the polls, but is offering liberal voters renewed hope

Thousands of people rallied in Budapest on Saturday as a political newcomer led a push to mobilise voters against Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, ahead of European elections on Sunday.

“We defeated apathy,” declared Péter Magyar, a former government insider who switched sides and launched an opposition movement, as he stood in front of a vast crowd which filled the capital’s Heroes’ Square.