In this ongoing weekly series, we summarise the most important political and public affairs developments from Hungary, guiding readers on the road to the key April 2026 election — a contest without precedent in the country over the past decade and a half. This week, we cover:
1. One of the Tisza’s biggest signings: former global vice-president of Shell
2. Orbán urges parents to talk to young people
3. Child protection scandals swept under the carpet
4. Poll: voters trust the Tisza’s issues more
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While last weekend the governing Fidesz held another of its “anti-war” campaign rallies in the north-eastern Hungarian city of Miskolc, opposition leader Péter Magyar made an announcement that succeeded in overshadowing Viktor Orbán’s appearance.
Unlike on previous occasions, Magyar did not stage a rival rally in the same city as the prime minister, but instead unveiled the Tisza party’s latest high-profile recruit.
István Kapitány, former global vice-president of the multinational oil company Shell, has become the Tisza party’s head of economic development and energy.
The 63-year-old Kapitány was for years regarded as one of Hungary's most successful executives. He originally trained to become a pilot — his father had also flown for former Hungarian national airline Malév – but his father died in a plane crash when Kapitány was just two years old.
Between 2014 and 2024, he served as Shell’s global vice-president. In that role, he oversaw around half a million employees across 85 countries and 47,000 retail units. From 2020 to 2025, he also held the presidency of Hungary’s National Association of Managers.
Kapitány joined Shell in the late 1980s at the age of 25. He worked in Hungary, England, South Africa, a number of European countries and in the United States. From 2014, his base was the British–Dutch company’s London headquarters.
In fact, in 2023, the current Fidesz government awarded Kapitány one of Hungary’s highest state honours, the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary.
As Tisza’s new economics expert, Kapitány argued that the Orbán government always blames external circumstances when confronted with economic difficulties — the war, or the German economy — “instead of addressing its own failed economic policies”. He also suggested reducing Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy sources.
That last remark prompted a swift response from Orbán and from Hungarian foreign affairs minister Péter Szijjártó, who claimed Tisza would “cut Hungary off from cheap Russian energy”.
“Now we know why they sent him: to carry out what was dreamed up in Brussels,” Orbán wrote of Kapitány.
Magyar, by contrast, argued that diversifying sources would mean cheaper gas and crude oil.
Analysts noted that by recruiting Kapitány, Tisza can demonstrate governing competence – and that the government’s swift and angry reaction shows just how significant a reinforcement the former Shell executive represents for the opposition party.
One of the most talked-about moments of Orbán’s Miskolc rally came when the PM spoke about young people. He noted that people "are whispering” that young voters do not support Fidesz and are disproportionately opposed to it.
“All I can say to that is that this is also our shared parental responsibility. Talking about politics is part of education. I ask everyone to talk to their own children, so that they can understand how important their decision will be,” the Hungarian prime minister said.
This was not the first time Orbán has addressed the issue of young people.
After chants of “Dirty Fidesz” became fashionable at summer festivals last year, he told an event organised by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium that young people should be treated with understanding, as every generation rebels.
Despite this, Fidesz has still failed to win over young voters. According to a January poll by Medián, there are enormous generational differences in voting behaviour in Hungary.
Nationally, among the overall population Tisza leads by 40 to 33 percent, but among voters under 30 there are hardly any Fidesz voters at all: here Magyar’s party leads by 67 to 12 percent. Among 30–39-year-olds the ratio is also 59 to 18 in Tisza’s favour.
Fidesz, however, clearly leads among those aged 50–64 (39 to 31 percent) and by an even larger margin among voters over 65 (49 to 24 percent). These figures point to a deep generational rift, and with barely three months to go until the election, any major shift appears unlikely.
The Orbán government has offered a peculiar response to the child protection scandals that have erupted in recent months.
Late on Monday evening (19 January), a decree was published in the Hungarian Official Gazette announcing the permanent closure of the juvenile correctional facility on Szőlő Street in Budapest.
This was the institution where the most serious cases came to light: an investigation was launched against the former director for human trafficking and abuse of power, while videos surfaced of the acting director brutally assaulting minors.
Initially, the government claimed there were no underage victims. It later sought to downplay both the crimes committed against children in such institutions and the failure to investigate them, arguing that the facility housed juvenile offenders.
The authorities first deployed police to the Szőlő Street institution and then began emptying it. The day after Monday’s decree appeared, the juvenile residents were transferred elsewhere, and the roughly 60 staff members were dismissed.
The government plans to open a new, nationwide correctional facility. Experts have said this plan runs counter to Hungary’s international legal obligations as well as to relevant Hungarian laws.
Róbert László, an election expert, said that with these measures the government is trying to demonstrate its capacity to act — while also concealing the fact that it failed to provide real solutions to the child protection crisis.
Medián’s January poll showed not only that the Tisza continues to enjoy a significant lead over Fidesz (40 to 33 percent among the total population and 51 to 39 percent among decided voters), but also that the opposition’s themes are more convincing to a majority of voters than those of Fidesz.
Of the eight listed issues, voters are most concerned that healthcare and education are not improving — a central theme of Tisza’s campaign. Second comes corruption and the deterioration of the economy due to theft by those in power, also a key opposition message. Third is the issue of child protection, followed by fears that Orbán might take Hungary out of the EU.
Only in fifth place was Orbán’s main theme: the risk that Hungary could be dragged into a European war.
Voters are even less worried that a change of government would bring significant tax rises. The final two priorities were occupied by the claim that Brussels would interfere in the elections — a claim frequently stressed by Fidesz — and the idea that the parliamentary election could be postponed.
At present, 62 percent of respondents believe that things in Hungary are heading in the wrong direction, while 54 percent think Orbán is seeking to divide and weaken the European Union.
The poll also asked voters what they thought of Orbán’s statement that it was unclear who attacked whom in Ukraine. (He later changed his position and stated clearly that, in February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine.)
Fifty-four percent of respondents said Russia had committed a serious and unjustified act of aggression against Ukraine, while 35 percent said Russia had acted legitimately to defend its interests and security.
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Zoltan Szalay studied law at Comenius University in Bratislava and worked in public administration as a lawyer. He later became editor-in-chief of Irodalmi Szemle and Új Szó. An author of several short story collections and novels, he has been on the staff of Denník N since 2019 and has served as editor-in-chief of Napunk since 2022.
Zoltan Szalay studied law at Comenius University in Bratislava and worked in public administration as a lawyer. He later became editor-in-chief of Irodalmi Szemle and Új Szó. An author of several short story collections and novels, he has been on the staff of Denník N since 2019 and has served as editor-in-chief of Napunk since 2022.