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Hungary’s opposition leader Péter Magyar has accused Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party of preparing a blackmail campaign against him involving a secretly recorded sex tape, escalating tensions ahead of April’s parliamentary elections.
Magyar, whose Tisza party leads Fidesz in opinion polls, said he suspects the governing party plans to release intimate recordings made with surveillance equipment.
“I suspect they are planning to release a recording, recorded with secret service equipment and possibly faked, in which my then-girlfriend and I are seen having intimate intercourse,” Magyar wrote on social media.
He said journalists received a photo of a bedroom with the message “coming soon” suggesting a video release is imminent. The image has circulated widely on social media, prompting public debate. The video has not appeared online yet.
“I am a 45-year-old man, and I have a regular sex life, with an adult partner,” Magyar added.
The picture is also featured on a website named after the Tisza Party’s vice president, Márk Radnai, with the date “2024.08.03” above it. Radnai said the domain does not belong to him.
Fidesz representatives denied involvement in distributing the photo. Under Hungarian law, releasing sexually explicit images without consent is a criminal offence.
The allegations come as tensions grow in the campaign, which has already seen activists attacked and candidates targeted with deepfake videos.
Hungary facing toxic campaign
Tisza, founded just two years ago, now leads Fidesz 35% to 28% among voters, according to the 21st Research Institute. Orbán has governed since 2010 with an absolute majority, and a change in government would reshape Hungary’s relationship with the European Union and its stance on the war in Ukraine.
Both parties have deployed aggressive tactics in the campaign. Fidesz has shared AI-generated deepfake videos showing Magyar pledging allegiance to Brussels or supporting Ukraine, positions unpopular with Orbán’s base. Government officials routinely describe Tisza as a tool of foreign interests.
Magyar accuses Orbán of corruption and using public funds to benefit family members and allies. He has released a secretly recorded conversation with his ex-wife, former Justice Minister Judit Varga in 2024, in which she discussed government pressure on the judiciary in sensitive cases.
Opposition activists have faced physical and verbal attacks at campaign events in recent months, and town hall meetings with government officials have been disrupted by opposition protesters.
Magyar launched Tisza following a government-linked child abuse scandal that forced two senior officials to resign.
Then-President Katalin Novák and Justice Minister Varga, Magyar’s ex-wife, stepped down after Novák pardoned a man who helped cover up abuse at a children’s care home.
The scandal eroded public trust in Orbán’s administration and created an opening Magyar exploited to build his party rapidly. Tisza’s rise represents the strongest challenge to Fidesz in years.
Elections are scheduled for 12 April, with both campaigns expected to intensify in the coming weeks.