Király Nóra, the Fidesz candidate for Csepel (Budapest’s 21st district), issued an apology and called for a complete transformation of the Fidesz party on Facebook this Friday. In Csepel, Király Nóra suffered a massive loss to the Tisza candidate, Kátai-Németh Vilmos, who secured over 61% of the vote compared to her 30%.
Király took to social media to offer a public apology to the 2.4 million Fidesz voters, acknowledging the toxic atmosphere that she claims led many former supporters not to vote for the party.
Rejection of Hate Campaigns
Király’s post-election assessment characterised the campaign strategy as one of “incitement, confrontation, and discrediting”, alleging that these tactics were mandatory and enforced within the party.
Király claimed that many within Fidesz “begged many times” for a different type of campaign, but their requests were “ignored as usual” by the leadership. Király’s Facebook apology highlights the social cost of Fidesz’s hate campaigns, “causing families to go to ruin and friendships to end”.
Call for Renewal and National Healing
Király warns that Fidesz is in “great trouble” if it attempts to rebuild using the same individuals responsible for the current state of the party.
Her proposal for survival involves “total renewal and rejuvenation”, stating that “Hungary began to heal” on the evening of the election loss, and asserting that those within the party who attempt to block this healing process are working against the “spiritual peace” of the Hungarian people.
Sorry Because You Lost?
Hungarian news outlets have been quick to highlight that Király personally utilised fear-mongering as a central pillar of her social media presence.
Telex points to a video she posted on 5 March, standing in front of a residential complex, where she speculated on what would happen if “Hungary, Budapest, or Újbuda were hit by a rocket attack” like those in the Middle East.
444 highlights one commenter who reminded Király that he had repeatedly asked her not to place “hate-mongering posters” near schools and kindergartens. Király’s defence was that she agreed with the request, but supposedly could do nothing to stop the placement of the posters.
Indeed, on 11 April, less than 24 hours before the election, Király posted a video on her Facebook warning that, in a time of conflict, it is particularly important to consider who is leading our country. The video continues by praising Orbán’s government in a time when there is “war all over the world” and “war Hungary’s borders for more than four years”.