A new year is coming, and in some countries that means the next year will begin with austerity measures, cutbacks, or even war loans. Hungary, however, will not be a country at war, which means we will not spend the money of the Hungarian people on a war. Therefore, we will have the resources to support the Hungarian people and Hungarian families. A lot of things will happen from the beginning of next year, so I will cheat a bit to make sure I don’t leave anything out of the list.
Let’s begin with support for families, as the tax allowance for children will be doubled. This will mean 20,000 forints for families with one child, 40,000 forints for families with two children, and for those raising three or more children, it will mean 66,000 forints per child in assistance and relief.
A lifelong personal income tax exemption will be launched for parents under 30 with one child, and for parents under 40 with two children. The increase of the minimum wage and the guaranteed wage minimum will begin. For the minimum wage, this will mean 322,800 forints, and the guaranteed wage minimum will rise to 373,200 forints.
Furthermore, the 11-point corporate tax reduction program will begin. This means that small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to save a total of 80–90 billion forints.
The 13th month pension will also arrive, and alongside it, the introduction of the 14th month pension begins — its first installment will also arrive — and the general pension increase continues, meaning that the average pension will now exceed 250,000 forints.
A net 1 million forint housing support program will be launched for public-sector employees, because our aim is that everyone should be able to live in a home of their own according to their means.
Six months of “weapon money” will be provided to armed forces and law enforcement personnel, and teacher salary increases will continue. This means that next year the average teacher salary will rise to 936,000 forints.
In addition, the wage increase for those working in public administration, social and cultural sectors will also begin at the start of the year — this is a 15% raise, which they truly deserve. The three-stage wage increase for judicial employees will also continue — I won’t go into details, but judges, clerks, and court employees can expect significant pay raises as well.
And the residential energy storage program will be launched. This is a relatively recent announcement, meaning that a non-refundable grant of 2.5 million forints will be provided to families who have or plan to install solar panels for the purchase and installation of a battery or, if needed, an inverter.
So this means that while others — other countries — will start the new year by burdening their people and pouring enormous amounts of money into fueling the machinery of war, we will resist this pressure, and we will spend the money that our economy allows us to spend on the Hungarian people.
🧠 Fidesz Communication Techniques in This Text
1️⃣ Panic framing: the world is dark, Hungary is the exception
“There are countries where austerity… war loans…”
Technique:
Constructing an external threat
“Others struggle → we alone are smart / safe”
➡️ Identity-building: Hungary = the island of peace.
2️⃣ False causal connection
“We don’t spend money on war → we can support families”
Manipulation:
Well-being is presented as dependent on external factors (war)
Distracts from actual economic causes (tax system, inflation, frozen EU funds)
➡️ Artificial linkage: peace → economic success As if the country’s finances simply depended on “not being at war.”
3️⃣ A list of cash giveaways — directly aimed at voters
“doubles”, “arrives”, “continues”, “launches”
Communication goal:
A stream of small benefits → illusion of prosperity
The government framed as a generous giver rather than responsible manager
➡️ Voters should feel: “I’m getting something, I should be grateful.”
4️⃣ Number manipulation
No reference to inflation
Real value of minimum wage raise omitted
“Average pension above 250,000 HUF” → median ~180,000 HUF unmentioned
➡️ Only the nominal success exists — the real reality does not.
Using “average salary” → distorted by highest earners
Missing fact: this raise was forced by the EU reforms
➡️ Framed as if the government raised wages out of benevolence.
6️⃣ “Us vs. Them” — emotional polarization
“other countries… burden citizens… fuel war machine”
Enemy designation:
Whoever isn’t with us → war supporter
Criticism = serving foreign interests
➡️ Polarization: “only we protect the people.”
7️⃣ Economic “success” is the property of the ruling party
“the potential of the Hungarian economy allows it”
Technique:
Success is owned by the government
Failures blamed on external actors
➡️ Classic populism: government = benevolent father figure.
📌 Summary — What is the message?
Hidden Claim
Communication Function
The world is drifting into war
Fear induction
Only we protect the country
Creating dependency
Support us → your benefits are safe
Reward framing
Economic well-being is in our hands
Centralization, loyalty pressure
🧩 This is not economic policy: this is a campaign speech using the budget as a tool. Core message: “Vote for us, or there will be war and you lose your benefits.”
It’s hard to even list the countless government measures that, as of today, further strengthen Hungarian families and pensioners:
✅ The tax allowance for children is being doubled ✅ Income tax exemption for mothers continues to expand ✅ Minimum wage and guaranteed minimum wage are increasing ✅ An 11-point corporate tax reduction program is starting ✅ The 13th and 14th month pensions are arriving ✅ A 1-million-forint home support allowance is provided to public sector employees ✅ Six months’ worth of “fegyverpénz” (security service bonus) is granted to workers in armed and defense forces ⚠️ The teacher pay raise continues ⚠️ Salary increases begin for employees in the administrative, social and cultural sectors ⚠️ Judges’ salaries continue to rise ⚡ A new household energy-storage support program is launching
Hungary continues to send neither money nor weapons to the war. We spend the results of the Hungarian economy on the people — everyone deserves it!
🟠 Actions instead of words!
🧩 RHETORICAL & PROPAGANDA ANALYSIS OF SZENTKIRÁLYI’S POST
🎯 1️⃣ Main Frame: “The government as the benevolent savior”
The list only highlights:
handouts
wage increases
tax benefits
👉 It removes why these are needed (inflation, austerity). 👉 Core message: “All good things come from the government.”
🧨 2️⃣ Eliminating Context — Half of the Story
Missing from the narrative:
real wage loss due to inflation
budget cuts to municipalities and public services
13th–14th month pension = restoring something once taken away
minimum wage increases driven by the market, not generosity
🔧 Technique: Only the positive effects, never the costs.
🦸 3️⃣ Self-Mythology: “We protect the Hungarian people”
Quote:
“Hungary will not send money or weapons to the war.”
This has nothing to do with the list: It sneaks in fear-based polarization:
If you oppose the government → you must be pro-war
Opposition = danger
🧮 4️⃣ Basket Strategy: Give everyone something
The list covers:
families
pensioners
teachers
civil servants
business owners
judges
armed forces
👉 Goal: Everyone finds a reason to feel rewarded. 👉 Hidden purpose: vote maximization.
🎢 5️⃣ The Performance Illusion: Quantity > Quality
“It’s hard to even list all the measures…”
The many checkmarks create the illusion of achievement:
no data
no outcomes
no real impact assessment
📌 Irony: “Actions not words!” — but it’s entirely words.
⚙️ 6️⃣ Economic Populism
“We spend the results of the economy on the people.”
Implies:
money is produced by the state
debt, deficit, and taxes are ignored
→ False narrative: government wealth doesn’t come from taxpayers
🧠 Summary of Propaganda Techniques
Technique
How it appears
Purpose
Positive framing
Only benefits listed
Generate gratitude
Fear injection
“We stay out of the war”
Create a threatening enemy
Broad targeting
Benefits for all social groups
Electoral expansion
Context removal
No mention of inflation or cuts
Avoid accountability
Quantity storytelling
Bullet list overload
Illusion of competence
🎤 True Meaning Behind the Post
“The government is generous, your life depends on us, and everyone who criticizes us wants war.”
The post does not inform — it manipulates emotion: gratitude, fear, and dependency.
Péter Magyar is desperately trying to claim that Tisza stands for peace — nonsense. Tisza is pro-Brussels, and Brussels wants to go to war with Russia, as we heard in the New Year’s speeches. Whoever votes for Tisza votes for Brussels, which means they vote for war.
1️⃣ False binary choice (“either us or war”)
“Whoever votes for TISZA votes for Brussels, which means they vote for war.”
What’s happening?
A two-option, fake choice is constructed:
Fidesz = peace
TISZA = war
No nuance, no middle ground, no third option.
🎯 Goal: moral blackmail 👉 You’re not making a political decision — you’re voting on “life or death.”
2️⃣ Guilt by association
Logical chain:
TISZA → Brussels → war → attack against Russia
Problem:
None of these links are proven
Political stance ≠ military intent
EU membership ≠ declaration of war
👉 This is a rhetorical domino, not an argument.
3️⃣ “Brussels” as a demonized phantom
“Brussels wants to go to war with Russia.”
🔧 Technique:
Turning the EU into a single hostile actor
Erasing institutional pluralism
Replacing debate with an enemy image
🎯 Function:
Create an external threat
Avoid responsibility for domestic issues
4️⃣ “New Year’s speeches” as fake authority
“We heard it in the New Year’s speeches too”
This is not a source. It’s:
vague reference
unverifiable
emotional reinforcement
👉 Classic authority laundering: (“Someone said it somewhere → so it must be true”)
5️⃣ Erasing Péter Magyar’s real positions
Notably:
No quote from him
No reference to his program
No specific stance mentioned
Only a label remains:
“pro-war”
🎯 Character assassination without facts
Summary – What can a politician learn from this?
“If you can’t win with facts, turn the debate into moral panic.”
This text:
does not inform
does not argue
mobilizes through fear
And that is precisely why it’s dangerous: it targets emotional reflexes instead of reality.
2️⃣ “We work hard” – same sentence, opposite meaning
Szentkirályi:
“We would help, but Karácsony is incapable.”
Trick:
Government makes the decisions → the city pays
Then the consequences are blamed on the city leadership 👉 Classic scapegoating
Karácsony:
“It is the workers of Budapest who keep the city running.”
Counter-frame:
Bus drivers, maintenance workers, public services
Budapest = community, not political spoils 👉 System narrative, not a personal myth
3️⃣ Autonomy vs. Subordination – the real dividing line
Szentkirályi / Fidesz:
Budapest should be a “good child”
Pay up
Don’t argue
Don’t sue 👉 Logic of central domination
Karácsony:
Ruling of unconstitutional takeaways
Winning lawsuits
Defending self-government 👉 Logic of municipal autonomy
Why Budapest is a threat to Fidesz:
“If Budapest can breathe, the whole country might breathe.”
4️⃣ Propaganda-level distortions in Szentkirályi’s messaging
What keeps disappearing from the narrative:
❌ the 100 bn HUF taken from Budapest
❌ the lawsuits the city has won
❌ the rule-of-law judgments
❌ the fact that the government decides, the city pays
👉 Not a ‘different opinion’ — but information suppression
5️⃣ Summary Table
Aspect
Szentkirályi (Fidesz)
Karácsony
Cause of conflict
The mayor himself
Government financial takeaways
Rhetoric
Personal attacks
Institutional, legal
Proposed solution
Obedience
Rights protection
Image of Budapest
Failure
Autonomous community
Political goal
Offload responsibility
Create legal precedent
🔚 One-sentence essence
Szentkirályi’s propaganda does not defend Budapest — it hides the fact that the government is deliberately squeezing the city. Karácsony’s message is precisely to expose that, using law and facts.
No comment… Hungarian propaganda and economics in one picture.
We are paying attention to pensioners! In 2026, pensions will be increased by 3.6%. In addition, the 13th-month pension will be paid, as well as the first quarter of the 14th-month pension.
“COMING IN 2026! THE 13TH-MONTH PENSION AND THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE 14TH-MONTH PENSION.”
The pro-government media is loudly citing The Economist to claim that Fidesz will win the 2026 election — now let’s look at the reality Domestic news
December 31, 2025 – 16:43 Zách Dániel
Only a few dozen votes per day are being cast in an online poll that has been running since November 12 and will continue until next May, in which the British Economist asks its readers whether they think Fidesz will win the most seats in the 2026 parliamentary elections. Based on the current results, around 57 percent of respondents believe that Fidesz will not have a majority in the new parliament, nor will the ruling party’s list win the most mandates. 21 percent think Fidesz will have a majority, and 17 percent believe it will not have a majority but will still win the most seats.
In contrast, Tények.hu, in a paid Facebook post, claims that The Economist says Fidesz–KDNP will win the 2026 elections — a claim also reported by Magyar Nemzet and Hirado.hu. Among the pro-government outlets mentioned, only the first indicated in its headline that this is not the opinion of the British weekly, but merely the current state of an ongoing reader poll.
Even the liberal Economist now predicts that Fidesz will win the elections! More than half of respondents believe that the national government will receive a renewed mandate for another four years.
Public opinion polls show the same trend. FIDESZ is continuously gaining strength, while Péter Magyar keeps stumbling from one scandal to another.
People can see clearly: Hungarians reject the Tisza Party’s austerity package, refuse illegal migration, and stand firmly behind the Hungarian government’s anti-war policy!
The events of recent months have shown the direction ahead. We are the frontrunners — in April we must show our strength together!
If we look at the 2010 level, by 2024 the real value of wages had increased to nearly 80% compared to that baseline. Based on roughly ten months of available data this year, we can already say—albeit as an estimate—that real wage growth is likely to rise to around 85%.
This growth was among the highest in the European Union in 2024: Hungary recorded the third-highest real wage increase in the EU.
If we compare Hungary’s average wage level in 2010 to the EU average, we were at about half of the EU level back then. By 2024, we had already reached two-thirds of the EU average.
In other words, Hungary is steadily converging toward the EU’s average wage level.
Annual net average earnings (PPS) of a full-time, single worker without children (Source: Eurostat, compiled by: Piroska Szalai)
The chart shows Hungary (green bars) and the EU-27 average (blue bars) from 2010 to 2025, along with the ratio of Hungarian wages to the EU average (orange circles, right axis).
‼️💰📈 Hungarian wage growth is among the best in the EU — and even stands out globally. 👏
✅ In 2013, the purchasing power of the Hungarian average net wage (without tax benefits) was only half of the EU average — today it has reached two-thirds.
💰Hungary’s wage growth ranks among the strongest in the European Union. Since 2016, there were only two years when we did not place among the top five performers. In 2024, Hungary recorded the third-largest improvement among the member states. We are continuously closing the gap with the EU average wage: in 2024 the purchasing power of Hungarian wages exceeded that of six EU countries, was nearly identical to the Czech level, and significantly approached Portugal and Slovenia.
💰The real value growth of Hungarian wages is also outstanding on OECD level. According to the OECD Employment Outlook reports, Hungary has been among the top performers for years. The most recent 2025 edition, analyzing developments from 2021 to Q1 2025, ranked Hungary second — just behind Turkey — out of 37 examined countries.
🌏 Hungarian wage growth is also among the world’s top performers. Based on the Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA) 2025–26 salary trends report, Hungary ranks second in Europe in 2025 (after Turkey), and is expected to maintain this position in 2026. Their forecast shows that our real wage growth will place Hungary among the top 10 countries worldwide.
📊 In the past decade, Hungary has experienced an unprecedented wage boom. Since 2010, both gross and net average wages have more than tripled, while their purchasing power has nearly doubled. In the first half of 2025, the gross average wage was 82.7%, and the net average wage 91.5% higher in real terms than in 2010.
👶👧👦 Thanks to the 50% increase of the family tax allowance from July, and the new tax exemption for mothers of three children from October, net wages are expected to grow even faster than gross wages in 2025.
👩💼 As of January this year, the family tax allowance has doubled compared to a year earlier, and mothers under 40 with two children are also eligible for full tax exemption. Therefore, again this year, net wage growth is expected to outpace gross wage growth.
Looking Back: An Evaluation After the Last Municipal Assembly of the Year
Together with Budapest Fidesz, we have worked throughout the year to make the daily lives of the people of the capital better. There is no doubt that it is not always easy to operate actively against left-wing headwinds, and many of our forward-looking proposals have fallen on deaf ears.
Nevertheless, in December the Assembly supported two proposals that we initiated. This allows us to provide housing utility support for those in need and to give special assistance to our senior fellow citizens with free access to baths, cinemas, or even the zoo.
Next year we won’t slow down — in fact, we will continue with doubled strength the work that the citizens of Budapest have mandated us to do.
Budapest deserves much more! 2026, we are coming!
🎯 1️⃣ Framing: “We work, they obstruct”
Core claim:
“We are improving the lives of Budapest citizens → the left is blocking us.”
This is an excuse-narrative:
if something doesn’t succeed → it’s not the ruling party’s fault
responsibility is constantly shifted onto the opposition
Function: ➡️ no accountability → only victimhood posture
🏆 2️⃣ “Small handouts = big victory”
They cite free tickets and utility subsidies as concrete achievements.
These are:
short-term benefits
low-impact social policy fillers
not addressing real strategic urban issues (transport, housing, environment)
👉 Classic populism: expect big gratitude for tiny gifts.
🦸 3️⃣ Self-mythologizing: “We are the saviors”
Phrases like:
“our forward-looking proposals”
“the people of Budapest mandated us”
Meanwhile, election results in Budapest show the opposite.
This is reality-reframing → a manipulative victory narrative.
🚀 4️⃣ The promise of a greater future—always
“We continue with doubled strength”
“Budapest deserves much more”
“2026, we’re coming!”
No concrete program, no data. But a strong campaign message:
“Things are bad now → we will make them better.”
➡️ Fearmongering + redemption narrative.
🧠 Overall Picture
Element
Purpose
Headwind narrative
Scapegoating, shifting responsibility
Emphasis on small benefits
Vote maximization through gift-politics
Success propaganda
Reality rewritten for political gain
Grand promises
Campaign building without content
📌 Conclusion
This text does not inform — it markets politics:
it aims at emotional identification,
casts Fidesz as both victim and hero,
replaces civic responsibility with dependency on handouts.
Q: Was there a favorite moment for you in this year’s municipal assembly, and what was the worst decision?
A: I’m glad that there were quite a few decisions that brought joy to the lives of Budapest residents, showing that even though it’s not easy with a left-liberal majority in the assembly, it is still possible to push through positive initiatives from time to time. Overall, those were my favorite moments — when we could bring proposals to the assembly that genuinely improve people’s everyday lives.
For example, at the most recent session two proposals were adopted based on our initiative. One is related to support for housing utility costs, which will help those who need it most. The other was aimed specifically at pensioners in Budapest, giving them the opportunity to participate in cultural programs — for instance, visiting the zoo or going to the cinema for free with their grandchildren — helping to make the holiday season a bit nicer and more enjoyable for them.
🎯 1️⃣ “Success within failure” narrative
Core framing:
“It’s not easy in a left-liberal majority, but sometimes we still succeed.”
🔧 Technique: pre-emptive excuse + self-absolution
If achievements are few → “they blocked us”
If anything passes → “see, even despite them, we delivered”
👉 This isn’t performance evaluation — it’s excuse-management.
🏆 2️⃣ Inflating tiny handouts into major achievements
Yes, you’re seeing it right — he’s already drunk, and his speech… well…
It’s already terrible that if someone asks the question “war or peace?”, then of course the answer is peace. I simply don’t understand how there can be people who call themselves Hungarian and still say: “No, no, we must attack the Russians and we must help Ukraine.” What benefit do we get from that? And if we make too much noise, we’ll end up with an atomic bomb dropped on us. Well, no thank you. So I absolutely do not want war. Peace is perfectly fine for me. Okay? That’s all.
