Running on people power

Péter Magyar’s landslide victory against Viktor Orbán, securing 70% of seats in the Hungarian parliament, is the defining political event of 2026. The decisive victory comes as many far-right leaders try to replicate Orbán’s success in dismantling their democratic systems. In the final days of the campaign, US Vice President JD Vance flew to Hungary for a rally, and a parade of far-right leaders including Meloni, Netanyahu, Babiš, Milei, Vučić, Le Pen, Salvini, and Weidel lined up to endorse Orbán. It was a ‘who’s who’ of baddies.

 

Besides these ringing endorsements, Orbán had many structural advantages. He had unlimited campaign funds thanks to a co-opted state apparatus and stolen public funds. He gerrymandered districts, turned public broadcasting into a propaganda machine, used state security to spy on and infiltrate the opposition, and oversaw rampant vote buying.

 

Yet, Magyar was still able to win.

 

Years of economic mismanagement and corruption had crippled growth. Inflation was wild. Public services had crumbled. In short, people felt their lives were getting worse.

 

Orbán also served as the perfect villain – evil embodied. The unconstrained power of governing with a supermajority for 16 years had corrupted Orbán and his party, Fidesz, to their core. He acquired zebras for his country estate, which became a symbol of tasteless and mindless corruption. Magyar the Politician's own origin story started when he abandoned Fidesz as an insider after the Minister of Justice (then his wife!) pardoned a man complicit in a pedophile scandal – allegedly because of his connections to Fidesz. 

 

Magyar proved a strong candidate and campaigned tirelessly, touring hundreds of villages and towns, visiting people in their communities, and listening to them. He proved immune to the propaganda attacks and attempts to discredit him.

 

For most campaigns – these factors are hard to influence. Parties can hope to find energetic, charismatic leaders who bounce back from attacks. We can hope that voters connect economic mismanagement and cuts in public services to our conservative and fascist opponents.  

 

But hoping is not enough. The lesson we should draw from the Tisza campaign is the difference a people-powered campaign can make. After 16 years, Tisza’s supporters knew that Magyar could not succeed without them. They would have to pull up their sleeves: volunteering, donating, and spreading the word. So how did they make this happen?

 

People

Magyar ran a relentless and professional digital organizing program. Every moment of the campaign was optimized to allow supporters to sign up for emails, sign petitions, and RSVP for events. This data was carefully managed in a modern marketing funnel – pulling people deeper into engaging with the party.  Overall, Tisza coordinated 50,000 volunteers, and communicated with hundreds of thousands of supporters directly. Campaigns that face long odds must provide constant opportunities and incentives for supporters and sympathizers to keep in touch and get involved – channeling them into the heart of the campaign.

 

Money

Magyar ran a large grassroots donation program. Tens of thousands of Hungarians donated to his campaign – chipping in for the change that they hoped for. Campaigns that do not collect donations are abandoning an important form of engagement and significant financial resource. They also create a strong dissonance in the messaging: communicating high stakes without allowing supporters to back the campaign financially.

 

Community

Magyar formed thousands of local groups of his supporters, allowing neighbors to gather, network, do community service, and eventually contribute to the campaign. These “Tisza Islands” brought people together to feed off of each other’s excitement and energy and collectively envision a better future. Campaigns that do not create structures for volunteers to build personal connections and networks are missing a crucial means of building community.

 

These tactics are nothing new – progressive campaigns have been deploying them for decades. What holds us back is when we play it safe, when we think too small, and when we fail to see and take advantage of the full potential of our supporters – our greatest resource and the real driving force behind successful campaigns.

 

At ECDA, we see these as the building blocks for people-powered campaigns and politics. We believe that, through strategies and tactics informed by digital tools, modern political campaigns can mobilize large numbers of supporters – far outside their membership base – and tap into the resources of these supporters to win against long odds.

 

As progressives around the world gear up for the next campaigns, we should be confident in our convictions and in our methods. We know what works and why, but we must overcome our doubts and fears.

 

So let’s get back to our roots. Build community. Empower supporters to take action. Only with people's power can we stand up to the far right, the billionaires, the corporations.