Hungarian Opposition Leader Alleges Smear Campaign Over Intimate Tape Ahead Of Elections (Worthy News Investigation)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief reporting from Budapest, Hungary

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s main opposition leader, 44-year-old Péter Magyar, said Thursday that he has become the target of what he described as a “Russian-style smear campaign” after he was secretly filmed during a consensual sexual encounter with a former girlfriend in 2024.

The allegations come two months before Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April, with recent opinion polls showing Magyar’s Tisza Party running well ahead of 62-year-old Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party.

Some political commentators have described the unfolding developments as part of one of the dirtiest election campaigns in modern Hungarian history, marked by escalating personal attacks and deep political polarization.

In a social media statement, Magyar alleged that Hungary’s intelligence services may have been involved in recording the footage and suggested possible cooperation with Russian intelligence. He provided no evidence for the claims. Government and ruling party officials denied any involvement.

Magyar said he chose to speak publicly to preempt what he described as an attempt to blackmail him ahead of the vote.

“I did not expect that two adults would be filmed having a consensual sexual act,” he wrote. “You will not be able to threaten or blackmail me,” he added in a video message addressing Orbán.

ALLEGED COORDINATED SCHEME

Magyar accused his former girlfriend, 35-year-old interior designer Evelin Vogel, of involvement in what observers could interpret as a so-called “honey trap,” saying that “her increasing blackmail made me realize I had walked into a classic Russian-type scandal.”

“On August 2, 2024, Tisza organized a summer party for its supporters, which I attended. At the end of the event, Evelin Vogel appeared and invited me to the apartment,” Magyar said.

“I did not realize that I was facing a secret service operation that day, so I let myself be seduced,” he added.

Images have circulated online purporting to show the apartment in Budapest.

Magyar said he saw what he believed to be illegal drugs at the location but denied using any substances.

He further alleged that she attempted to extort 30 million Hungarian forints (about $82,000) from him and his party.

VOGEL DENIES ALLEGATIONS

Vogel strongly rejected the accusations.

“I am very saddened that Péter is accusing me of this and that public life has come to this point,” she said. “No sane person can think that I was involved in this, especially not with the Russian secret service. I know just as much about this video as Péter or the public.”

Fidesz spokesman Tamás Menczer also rejected the broader allegations, saying Magyar’s remarks amounted to an admission that he had previously misled the public, though he did not directly address claims of intelligence service involvement.

Earlier this week, a website published what appeared to be a still image of a bedroom accompanied by a message suggesting additional material could follow. On Thursday, the caption was updated to include a specific date in 2024. As of Magyar’s statement, no video had been released publicly.

Magyar described the situation as “kompromat,” a term referring to compromising material used for political leverage. He suggested the alleged recording was intended to divert attention from what he has described as mounting government scandals and growing social upheaval in Hungary.

INDUSTRIAL AND EU PRESSURES

The controversy emerged after a leaked national security probe alleged that the government had kept quiet about excessive levels of toxic substances at a Samsung SDI battery plant north of Budapest. The report said authorities chose not to shut down the facility due to economic concerns, potentially putting thousands of workers and nearby residents at risk.

Hungary’s government denied the allegations, while Samsung said the plant now complies with all applicable regulations.

Separately, Advocate General Tamara Capeta of the European Union’s top court advised that the European Commission may have acted improperly when it released more than 10 billion euros (about $11 billion) in funds to Hungary in December 2023 after concluding that judicial reform conditions had been met.

While the opinion is non-binding, it could influence the court’s final ruling. Hungary’s currency, the forint, briefly weakened following the announcement before partially recovering. The EU has withheld billions in funding from Hungary over rule-of-law concerns and what it has described as a lowering of democratic standards — allegations the government denies.

RISING OPPOSITION FORCE

Magyar founded the center-right Tisza Party in 2024 after breaking with Orbán’s ruling camp.

He has since sought to unite Hungary’s fragmented opposition while attracting disillusioned Fidesz voters by focusing on living costs, governance concerns, and corruption allegations.

His party unveiled a program over the weekend promising to crack down on corruption while maintaining some of the social programs introduced under the Orbán era.

Recent surveys indicate the Tisza Party poses one of the strongest electoral challenges to Orbán since he returned to power in 2010.

As of Thursday, no recording had been made public, and the allegations of a smear campaign remain disputed.

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