The dramaturgy of the Peace March's final stop in Kossuth Square was not accidental: the screening of footage from 1956 before Viktor Orbán's speech expressed the need for historical continuity, suggesting that the contemporary political custodian of the '56 tradition is the right-wing-nationalist side led by the Prime Minister.

Think about whether what the ’56ers sacrificed their lives for was in vain or not?

– with this question – asked by a hero of '56 – the projected recording ended.

Viktor Orbán has anticipated the outcome of the numbers war

“God has brought the wanderers of freedom” – this is the sentence with which Viktor Orbán greeted the crowd gathered in Kossuth Square. In his speech, the Prime Minister linked the memory of 1956 with the current political situation, and interpreted the continuity of the national community through his own political camp. He emphasized that the country had regained possession of it and had adorned the capital with a dignified festive decoration:

You brought with you a flag, faith and hope, just as you did on October 23, 1956.

Continuing his line of thought, he also spoke about how"the roar of '56 is being heard again," and Hungary is showing the world that it does not forget and will not let go of the hands of its heroes.

Viktor Orbán described the Peace March as the greatest political force in Hungary, and even as the most significant patriotic and political movement in Central Europe and all of Europe.

With this, he clearly set the political interpretative framework of the day and indirectly stated"who won" the numbers war.

The well-known contrast reappeared in his speech: the Prime Minister defined his own camp against the liberal spirit of the times and the"Brussels oppressors", which he believed were the guardians of national sovereignty and the preservation of traditional values.

Peace as a political identity

As expected, the issue of war and peace was a central element in Viktor Orbán’s speech. The Prime Minister defined staying out of the war in Ukraine as the fundamental goal of Hungarian foreign policy, while presenting Brussels as the embodiment of a “pro-war” stance. According to his interpretation, the political elite of the European Union is also contributing to the prolongation of the conflict by “stymiing” US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts. In contrast, Hungary, and the political community represented by the government, define themselves as committed supporters of peace.

The Prime Minister also addressed the tensions in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations: according to him, Ukraine “does not treat Hungarians well,” but Hungary nevertheless provides humanitarian aid, and the partnership between the two countries is “fine.” At the same time, he made it clear that Budapest does not support Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

Viktor Orbán described his political opponents as “allies of war”: “The pro-war countries have created a war alliance.” The prime minister emphasized that peace requires strength, and this strength, he believes, is on the government’s side. “Hungary is on the side of peace, the Russian-Ukrainian war is not our war.”

He sent a strong message when he declared: whoever says no to war is with them, and whoever stands with them is Hungarian. 

With this turn, the Prime Minister framed the pro-peace stance not only as a foreign policy issue, but also as a matter of national identity, further strengthening one of the pillars of the government narrative: preserving Hungarian sovereignty equals staying away from war, and the current government party is the custodian of Hungarian sovereignty.

Viktor Orbán has outlined the main fault lines of the election

In his speech, the Prime Minister also touched on next year's elections and described his own political camp as united and mobilizable. He said:"If we have to move, we will move together", but added that the task of the next five months will be to address the"deceived Hungarians", because - as he said -"we cannot give up on a single soul", since"every Hungarian is responsible for every Hungarian".

The statements clearly indicate the intensification of the election campaign – its close struggle – and, in addition to mobilizing, they also served to emphasize the moral responsibility of the political community.

In his speech, Viktor Orbán did not name Péter Magyar or the Tisza Party, but he made it clear with several references that he was characterizing the opposition. He explained that it was not the leaders of the opposition who could not be dismissed, “because they have their masters,” but rather that he should address those voters “who believe they are standing for a good cause” when they “support the candidates of the puppet government sent here from Brussels.”

With this, the Prime Minister described the opposition as a force under external influence and contrary to national interests – not for the first time, and certainly not for the last time, while effectively acknowledging that his political rival has substantial social support.

Viktor Orbán called the most important task of the coming months: “We must tell the deceived Hungarians: Brussels is not help today, but danger.” He described the Tisza Party’s European party family, the European People’s Party – of which Fidesz itself was previously a member – as “a bad omen,” further sharpening the EU-critical narrative that has been present in government communication for years.

The Prime Minister identified his opposition opponents as supporters of pro-war, pro-Brussels policies, and gave a special message to the “misled voters″:

Those who think they support government change are actually supporting war, whether they know it or not.

This message is actually a multi-layered political signal: it is not just an expression of the government's self-confidence, but also a reaction to the increasingly tight competition in opinion polls. Regardless of whether the measurements indicate Fidesz-KDNP or the Tisza Party as stronger – mostly the latter – the political map has become more balanced.

Recognizing this, Viktor Orbán is preparing for the 2026 elections by outlining a communication strategy that not only seeks to mobilize his own camp, but also to address opposition voters, or at least to strengthen uncertainty about the goals and credibility of the Tisza Party.

In his list, Viktor Orbán linked the Brussels political direction with economic and social consequences that were contrary to Hungarian interests: mentioning the migration pact, tax increases, the abolition of utility reductions, and the curtailment of family benefits. With this, in the last third of the speech, he clearly outlined the main fault line of the 2026 election campaign:

According to the government narrative, the election will not only be a domestic policy issue, but also a sovereignty issue, i.e. a choice between national independence and “Brussels influence”.

This time, Viktor Orbán gave a more restrained speech compared to the bug-fest speech of March 15, but with a strong political message. The tone of his speech was more conservative than usual, and he sought to set out a more value-based political direction. He did not fail to openly criticize his opponents, but he avoided expressions and adjectives that could be offensive to the opposition voter base.