The spread of false reports in liberal media outlets is aimed at stirring tensions ahead of the upcoming elections, Parliamentary State Secretary Balázs Hidvéghi said in the online programme Harcosok órája on Monday. He underlined that “the government will always point out manipulation.”

Commenting on stories claiming “no one visits Lake Balaton,” Hidvéghi said that if these claims had been true, “for years no one would have been there except midges.” On critical reports about ageing Budapest buses, he said Mayor Gergely Karácsony had inherited significant reserves in 2019, which could have been used to improve transport instead of property purchases.

Hidvéghi also criticised the opposition-aligned press for omitting favourable comments by Péter Magyar regarding a hospital in Székesfehérvár, stating: “the verdict was written in advance.” He added that the liberal media environment is “closed, uninterested in objectivity, staffed not by journalists but by political propagandists.”

On speculation about Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s possible departure, Hidvéghi emphasised that “the fate of the country is at stake” and decisions on foreign policy, migration, and family support must remain in the hands of the Hungarian Parliament. “The election will decide whether sovereignty policy continues or whether foreign-serving politics prevails,” he said.

The programme also featured József Horváth, director of the Sovereignty Protection Research Institute, who assessed the Alaska Trump–Putin summit and Western strategy in Ukraine. He argued that Europe’s sanctions policy had failed to weaken Russia while causing a severe energy and economic crisis in Europe.

Horváth warned that without compromise, Ukraine faces a tragic outcome, with depopulation and collapse looming. He also noted that Russia’s defence industry can produce arms at several times the capacity and much lower cost than Western suppliers.