Tisza Party

The Respect and Freedom Party, known as the Tisza Party or TISZA, is a conservative political party in Hungary. It is currently the ruling party and has a mix of centre to centre-right and populist views. The party is also pro-European, meaning it supports strong ties with the European Union and NATO.

The party was founded in 2020 but became very important after 2024 when Péter Magyar, a former member of the Fidesz party, joined. He became the leader of the Tisza Party on July 22, 2024. With his help, the party won many seats in important elections, including a big victory in the parliamentary election on April 12, 2026. This win ended a long period of rule by Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party.

The Tisza Party wants to fight corruption and make Hungary’s government more fair and open. It believes Hungary should join more European groups, like the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and work to make the courts independent from political control. The party also suggests changes to how leaders are chosen, such as letting people vote directly for the President of Hungary and limiting the Prime Minister to serving only two terms.

History

The party was founded in Eger on 23 October 2020 by local politicians and entrepreneurs Attila Szabó and Boldizsár Deák. They planned to contest the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election, but could not run that year.

"Tisza" is a portmanteau of the first syllables of the Hungarian words tisztelet (respect) and szabadság (freedom). This name references the Tisza, Hungary's second-longest river, which is important in Hungarian culture. The name is used in party campaigns, with current leader Magyar often using it. For example, referring to the Tisza river flooding the Great Hungarian Plain, "the Tisza is flooding!" (Hungarian: Árad a Tisza!) has become a popular chant at Magyar's rallies.

The party stayed quiet until 2024. Péter Magyar, a former Fidesz politician, joined the party after a big event where the president pardoned someone involved in a serious mistake. Magyar started protests and shared important information about government actions.

In March 2024, Magyar said he wanted to contest the 2024 European Parliament election in Hungary. In April, he joined Tisza and became one of its vice presidents and top candidate for the European Parliament. In the election in May 2024, Tisza came second with almost 30% of the vote and won 7 seats.

After the European Parliament election, Tisza worked to grow its support. They created "Tisza Islands," local groups of supporters, and by January 2025 had over 20,000 members. In July 2024, Péter Magyar became the leader of the party.

In March 2025, Magyar created a questionnaire with 13 questions for people to answer. Over a million people responded, helping shape the party's plans.

In July 2025, the party held a big meeting in Nagykanizsa where they announced plans for the future, calling it the "Hungarian New Deal."

In late 2025, the party chose its candidates for the 2026 Hungarian election through a special voting process.

During the campaign for the 2026 election, the party used the slogan "Now or never!" (Most vagy soha!). Tisza won a big victory, ending 16 years of Fidesz rule and gaining enough seats to change the Constitution of Hungary on their own. They won 141 seats in the National Assembly, the most any Hungarian party has ever won in a free election.

Ideology and policy

The Tisza Party started as a small group but has grown under its leader Magyar into a centre-right party in Hungary. It is part of a bigger group of parties in Europe and tries to attract many voters by not taking strong stands on every issue.

Magyar wants to fight what he sees as corruption in Hungary. He believes some families control the country and wants to join European groups to help stop this. He also wants to make sure leaders can only serve a limited time and plans to ask voters to agree to this idea.

For the economy, Magyar hopes to get back money from Europe that was held because of disagreements. He wants to use this money to help businesses grow and plans to set minimum prices for things like energy. He also supports using the Euro as Hungary’s money because he thinks it will make things more stable.

The Tisza Party supports Europe and wants good relations with Western countries. They agree with Hungary’s current stance on not sending help to Ukraine in its war with Russia. They also want strict rules about who can move to Hungary and have criticised the current government for allowing many workers from outside the European Union to come into the country.

The party has not said much about social issues like cultural debates or events involving different types of families. However, after winning an election, Magyar said Hungary should be a place where everyone is treated fairly, no matter who they love.

Attacks against the party

The Tisza Party has faced several challenges and accusations from different groups, often linked to the Fidesz government. In May 2025, new rules about sharing assets were introduced, which many thought targeted a person named Magyar. This led all members of the European Parliament to share their assets publicly. Later, there were requests to remove Magyar’s protection as a member of the European Parliament due to legal issues, but the committee decided to keep his protection for now.

There have also been public incidents involving Magyar. In August 2025, someone tried to throw something at him during an event, and another person made a very harsh comment online. Police arrested the person who made the comment. Some people believe the government is trying to stop Magyar from being part of future elections. In February 2026, a photo appeared online that caused a lot of talk, and in March, a comic book was released that showed Magyar in a very negative way.

The party itself has also faced difficulties. During a public event, some of their members were reportedly attacked, and there were claims that these attacks were encouraged by the prime minister. There were also issues with online groups, where personal information of volunteers was shared without permission. The party believes these actions are part of unfair campaigns against them. Additionally, some independent candidates have names very similar to Tisza party members, which could confuse voters.

Election results

The Tisza Party has participated in elections for the National Assembly, the European Parliament, and the General Assembly of Budapest. These elections help decide who will lead and make important decisions in Hungary and for its representatives in Europe. The party’s performance in these elections shows how much support it has from people in these areas.

Leadership

President