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PoliticsHungary

Orban's political rival Peter Magyar walks to Romania

Zsolt Bogar | Lavinia Pitu | Dora Diseri
May 27, 2025

Hungary's opposition leader Peter Magyar walked 300 kilometers to Romania to protest the policies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He was welcomed by ethnic Hungarians in the city of Oradea.

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In mid-May, Peter Magyar, Hungary's main opposition leader, embarked on a 300-kilometer (around 185 miles) trek to neighboring Romania to protest the policies of Hungary's government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban. 

There are approximately 1.1 million ethnic Hungarians in Romania — 6.1% of the country's total population. Most of them live in the regions of Transylvania and Banat. 

Magyar's destination at the end of his 11-day march was Oradea, one of the cities in Transylvania with a large Hungarian-speaking population. 

Welcomed by locals, Magyar sought to emphasize unity among Hungarians across national borders and draw attention to shared democratic values.

Magyar is expected to be Orban's main challenger in next spring's parliamentary election in Hungary. According to recent opinion polls, he has a good chance of winning.

Portrait of a man with gray-black mottled hair and a full beard
Zsolt Bogar Editor at DW Hungarian. His interests include Hungarian and European politics and economics.
A woman with long brown hair (Lavinia Pitu) smiles at the camera; in the background is a cityscape with buildings, church towers and a river.
Lavinia Pitu Video editor, investigative journalist, TV presenter