A “revolution” in the air as an actor joins the Hungarian opposition

Magyar has drawn tens of thousands of people to its rallies since it rose to prominence in February, following the scandal that hit Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Nagy is expected to take the stage at the final rally on Sunday, in Debrecen, Hungary's third largest city, stronghold of Orban's Fidesz party.

Accusing the government of populism, cronyism and corruption, Magyar's campaign is raising hopes for “system change”, the actor said.

The campaign is growing so fast that he had to lend the politician his pickup truck so he could give a speech at a spontaneous rally.

“We didn’t have time to get on a stage,” Nagy, 47, said.

“There is a revolutionary climate, like in 1956,” he said, referring to the historic uprising against Soviet-backed communist leaders in Hungary.

Nagy helped organize Sunday's rally and plans to appear on stage alongside any other celebrities “brave enough” to join.

Magyar, 43 and a self-proclaimed conservative, has since last month led a political group that claims to be “neither right nor left” to challenge Orban.

He is currently on tour in this central European country in the run-up to the European elections on June 9.

Magy took the initiative in February when an Orban ally, Katalin Novak, resigned as president after it was revealed she had pardoned a convicted accomplice of a child molester.

Analysts say it is the biggest scandal to hit Orban in his 14 years as prime minister and has sparked the fiercest protests he has ever faced.

In less than three months, the Magyar party TISZA (Respect and Freedom) has eclipsed the rest of the opposition in the run-up to the European elections.

A recent poll by pollster Median showed the party enjoyed 25 percent support.

Nagy says he had never been involved in politics before – but it only took Magyar an hour to convince him to join the campaign.

He believes that the EU member country under Orban has been transformed into a “kind of dictatorship lite”.

Since returning to power in 2010, Orban, 60, has changed laws to restrict independent media, civil society, arts and culture.

“If someone is rebellious, if they enter the opposition, or at least criticize the power in place, there are consequences,” Nagy told AFP.

He claims to have been blacklisted himself after making a critical comment towards a senior Fidesz official.

One producer was told his film wouldn't be financed if Nagy was in it, the actor said.

Nagy said Magyar could reach “millions of people who have (so far) preferred to stay away and not participate in democracy simply because they were apathetic and frustrated” in the face of the current opposition.

“Now the arrival of a sensible, open-minded, determined and courageous man has suddenly galvanized hundreds of thousands of people.”

But the Magyars encountered strong resistance.

Orban rejected the challenge, but “Fidesz nevertheless made serious efforts to nip this movement in the bud,” said political analyst Zoltan Lakner.

Posters commissioned by Fidesz have sprung up across the country, describing Magyar as “the humble servant of Brussels” alongside other opposition politicians.

He is also the subject of negative coverage from media close to Fidesz, ranging from serious accusations of domestic violence, which he denies, to mockery about his “woman's sunglasses”.

Last month, he said he was under investigation by the Sovereignty Protection Office, a controversial new government agency created to combat foreign influence.

Magyar's supporters say his strength lies in knowing the system from the inside.

A lawyer by training, he worked for years as a diplomat in Brussels.

His ex-wife is a former ally of Orban: former Justice Minister Judit Varga.

His appearance in Orban's stronghold of Debrecen will be a test of the extent of his popularity.

Magyar's biggest challenge, Lakner said, is building his party quickly, finding qualified people who don't pose a political risk, causing “a lot of problems later.”

“But if Magyar can rally opposition voters behind him, he can present a viable alternative to disaffected voters.”

ros/jza/rlp