Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivered a combative speech on March 15, marking the anniversary of the 1848 revolution against Habsburg rule. Using rhetoric reminiscent of Hungary's darker historical periods, he vowed an Easter cleanup of bedbugs, referring to journalists, judges, opposition forces and NGOs critical of the government.

The country's veteran leader framed domestic critics of his government as traitorous collaborators while positioning his administration as the defender of Hungary's sovereignty. He also cast the government's opposition to Ukraine's EU membership as a defensive battle for the country's independence and prosperity.

Participants needed to pre-register to attend the commemoration and the PM's speech inside the garden of the National Museum in central Budapest. Outside the gates, a few anti-government protestors gathered, whistling and shouting, leading to sporadic scuffles with Fidesz supporters before police intervened. Independent media was excluded from entering the area where Orban held his speech. Dozens of buses were seen on nearby streets around the museum, transporting Fidesz supporters from the countryside to the event. 

The speech leaned heavily on nationalist themes, drawing historical parallels between past Hungarian uprisings and current political battles with Brussels, and likened imperial oppression of the past to current EU leadership.

Orban positioned himself as a defender of Hungarian independence against a new imperial force, comparing Brussels to Vienna, the home of Habsburgs, and invoking historical grievances and nationalist sentiment, messages that resonate well with his supporters, who view the EU's influence as an overreach into Hungary's sovereignty.

The prime minister presented 12 demands to the EU, a symbolic reference to the 12 points of the 1848 revolution, which called for national sovereignty, independence from Habsburg rule and civil liberties, including the freedom of the press, amongst others. 

The first demand is about creating a "Europe of Nations", the second about equality before the law for all EU member states, and the third about restoring powers "illegally taken away from nations", Orban detailed on social media. Other demands included reinforcing national veto rights, curbing migration, and expelling "Soros agents" and lobbyists from Brussels institutions. The final demand called for the rejection of Ukraine's EU membership.

Orban argued that Kyiv's rapid EU integration would impose unbearable financial costs on Hungary and its citizens. Last week, the Hungarian PM announced plans to gauge people's views on the issue through a national consultation, which opposition parties claim serves only to attempt to divert attention from the cost of living crisis.

He framed his government's opposition to Ukraine joining the block as a defensive battle for Hungary's sovereignty and prosperity, saying the war had made Hungary suffer "the biggest economic loss" in the EU. In previous interviews, he made the unsubstantiated claim that Budapest had lost €20bn over the last three years, but no data is available to verify this.

The prime minister also accused the EU of attempting to subjugate Hungary and vowed to reshape the bloc from within. "The remedy is not to turn our backs on the EU, but rather to go further in, occupy it and change it," he added.

The most controversial comments came at the end of the speech. "After today's festive gathering comes the Easter cleaning. The bedbugs have overwintered," he said. "We will dismantle the financial machine that has used corrupt dollars to buy politicians, judges, journalists, pseudo-NGOs and political activists. We will eliminate the entire shadow army, which is serving external powers rather than Hungary's national interests."

According to political observers, Orban's address was one of his most radical in recent years, sharpening anti-EU and anti-Western rhetoric with unveiled threats against government critics with the potential aim of silencing them. 

Political scientist Balint Ruff said Orban's troubling historical connotations, using the word bug in Hungarian political discourse, is a disgrace in 2025 from anyone holding office. The Hungarian term "poloska" was used as a derogatory reference to Jews in the Horthy era (1920-1944), and later, during the Stalinist Rakosi regime (1950-1953), politicians used the same term to describe their opponents, he told local media.

Pro-government media has continuously referred to opposition leader Peter Magyar as a bug to discredit him for secretly recording a short conversation with his wife, Judit Varga. In the 2-minute recording later leaked by Magyar, the Justice Minister of the time spoke of details how Orban's most powerful minister Antal Rogan reportedly tampered with documents in a high-level corruption case.

Magyar, who marked his political debut a year ago today with a mass rally, did not directly respond to the controversial remarks made earlier by the prime minister. Instead, he seized the opportunity to announce his party's referendum initiative, "The Voice of the Nation," while targeting corruption within the Orban regime and contrasting it with the ongoing cost of living crisis faced by ordinary Hungarians.

He began his speech by saying "Tavaris konec" (which translates to "Comrade, it's over"), a slogan used by Hungary's right-wing conservative MDF party in the 1990 April parliamentary election, comparing the PM to a "terrified old emperor".

The 43-year-old portrayed the prime minister and his inner circle as the true oppressors of Hungarian freedom and hinted at legal consequences for what he described as Orban's "3,000 loyalists."

He accused the PM and his circle of enriching themselves at the country's expense, calling Hungary "one of the EU's poorest countries" while the prime minister and his allies amassed fortunes. "They have properties, yachts and private jets around the world," he said.

"The Orban dynasty got rich off of you and diverted the funds for their own means," he said, adding that the family of the prime minister has amassed wealth of HUF10 trillion (€25bn).

"In March 1848, the old emperor was hiding in his palace in Vienna. Today, the old emperor is building himself a panic room in Hatvanpuszta," Magyar said, referring to the Orban family's mansion near Felcsut, built on a 13-hectare area from an estimated HUF11.5bn.

Magyar called for comprehensive asset forfeiture for anyone involved in crimes related to public funds, proposing investigations into politicians' wealth over the last 20 years, should his party come to power.

The Tisza leader renewed promises to join the European Public Prosecutor's Office, restore judicial independence, and implement strict anti-corruption measures. He also pledged job creation, rural revitalisation, social housing projects and the recovery of EU funds.

At the rally drawing tens of thousands of people on Budapest's iconic Andrassy boulevard, Hungary's opposition leader announced the launch of a nationwide referendum initiative which would "lay the cornerstones of our homeland's future".

The 12-question initiative, available online and in-person from March 24 to April 11 for people aged 16 years or older, includes proposals such as reinstating the small business tax abolished by Fidesz (Kata), introducing a uniform 9% personal income tax, cutting VAT on medicines to zero, and capping the prime minister's salary.

The referendum also touched on governance and foreign policy, with questions on whether Hungary should remain in the EU and NATO, restore local government powers, and impose term limits on prime ministers. An additional question asks whether voters support Ukraine's EU accession.

Magyar rejected the government's national consultation as fraudulent and a waste of money, positioning the vote by Tisza Party as a genuine grassroots initiative.