Can we declare a winner? – we asked Tibor Attila Nagy. The analyst opined: “It is difficult to declare a winner based on the size of the crowd. It is certain that there were many people at both events, both sides showed their strength, and neither side can be ashamed. Regarding the speeches, however, I think that Viktor Orbán gave a slightly better, more effective speech than Péter Magyar. The Prime Minister’s speech was significantly more acceptable, so in my opinion, in terms of the effectiveness of the speeches, Viktor Orbán won.”

Was Viktor Orbán's speech better?

Attila Tibor Nagy, however, regretted that Viktor Orbán's speech"gave us a picture of Hungary that was strongly divided internally. In fact, the fact that two large blocs are celebrating separately already indicates division, but the speech made it even more clear that there is not really internal peace. The Prime Minister reflected on this when he stated that we need to talk to the other side, with particular reference to young people."

The analyst pointed out: “The speech was full of insults to the European Commission, i.e. Brussels. Based on this, we are not at peace with this part of the world either, but of course our relations with other regions of the world are better. It was once again clear that the prime minister has been hoping for many years for the downfall of those EU politicians who disagree with him, and for the allies of the Hungarian prime minister to be able to gain a position. The prime minister’s speech portrayed a Hungary that is very scratchy, clings to the perceived or real truth to the extreme, and would even like to hide in a hedgehog position, the key phrase of which was “leave us alone.” There has been a political market in Hungary for insulting foreign powers for centuries.”

According to Attila Tibor Nagy, it was a smart decision to focus on the issue of war and peace in the prime minister's speech."Everyone, or at least almost everyone, wants peace in Hungary, and they tried to create a broad consensus. Viktor Orbán said things that everyone would like to hear: let there be peace and let the war not spread further."

The Prime Minister's speech was therefore significantly better. He hit the mark on which people's existential fears are based. Moreover, he was more focused; Péter Magyar spoke for more than an hour, while Viktor Orbán was satisfied with less than that

– said Tibor Attila Nagy.

According to the analyst, Péter Magyar was a vagabond

Attila Nagy stated about Tibor Péter Magyar's speech:

Many speeches have many endings. It was a rambling one, one topic did not necessarily lead to another. At the beginning, he spoke at length about the significance of October 23, I thought it would be a celebratory speech, but afterwards I felt like I was hearing a sanitized version of his speeches during his national tour. He spoke simultaneously about October 23, the former and current Viktor Orbán, and his thoughts on the national tour. It was a bit confusing and quite drawn-out, not really captivating speech.

Attila Tibor Nagy revealed: “I didn’t feel that Viktor Orbán and Péter Magyar’s thoughts had elements that we would still be talking about in 1-2 months. The Prime Minister’s bug-busting speech on March 15 still comes to mind today, but Viktor Orbán was more cautious today, just as Péter Magyar didn’t say such shocking things.”

The analyst also saw nothing new in Péter Magyar contrasting the Viktor Orbán of 1989 with the current one. “I have heard and read this many times from the left-liberal intellectuals. Péter Magyar may not have consciously done so, but perhaps he made a gesture towards the left-liberal intellectuals, but they will not decide the election,” Attila Tibor Nagy pointed out.

The analyst finally concluded: “Péter Magyar has been on the defensive since the Index article on the tax increase plans. He needed a big speech to break out of this, but this was not the right one. It will be interesting to watch the aftermath of today, the framing of the analysts and commentators. I don’t think either speech was fantastically good or very attention-grabbing, Viktor Orbán’s was somewhat better, but the question is who will prevail in public opinion, the press, and the online public. It doesn’t matter who wins the aftermath of today.”

We followed Viktor Orbán's speech in this article, and Péter Magyar's here. If you're curious about the events of the day, you can find our minute-by-minute coverage here.