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Hungary’s opposition leader Péter Magyar has admitted he was lured into a “honey trap” by his former girlfriend, and has rejected allegations of drug use. Magyar says Viktor Orbán’s government orchestrated the operation using secret service methods.
Magyar’s Tisza Party is the main challenger to Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz in Hungary’s April elections, and is currently leading in the polls. The election campaign has lately intensified with personal attacks on activists and candidates, as well as the use of deepfake videos.
On Tuesday, photos of a room with a bed began circulating online, with suggestions they are connected to a sex tape featuring Magyar.
In a social media video shared Thursday afternoon, the opposition leader admitted he visited the apartment in the picture in August 2024 after a party, and had consensual sex with his ex-girlfriend.
“That night I didn’t realise that I was facing a secret service operation, so I let myself be seduced,” Magyar said.
“But later I realised that I had walked into a classic Russia-style compromising situation. But since I had not done anything illegal, my conscience is clear.”
Magyar said other people who were present in the apartment likely had drugs with them, but denied taking any drugs himself and said he is ready to take a drug test. Drug use is illegal in Hungary.
‘They will not succeed’
“I do not know how the images and audio recordings illegally recorded in the apartment with secret service equipment will be manipulated afterwards, but I suggest that the entire recording made in the room be released uncut,” Péter Magyar said.
The party leader said the sex tape campaign is targeting his family, and aimed at breaking him psychologically.
“The Fidesz leaders know that I have my sons with me this week as our grassroots campaign starts next week. They wanted to ruin this period and to put me under even greater psychological pressure, so I made a mistake. They will not succeed,” Magyar said.
Fidesz representatives have denied involvement in distributing the photo or having knowledge about the video.
Under Hungarian law, releasing sexually explicit images without consent is a criminal offense.
The allegations have come at a crucial stage in the campaign. Tisza, founded just two years ago, now leads Fidesz 35% to 28% among decided voters, according to the 21st Research Institute.
Orbán has governed Hungary since 2010 with an absolute majority. A change in government would reshape Hungary’s relationship with the European Union and its stance on the war in Ukraine.