Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar on Tuesday said he is ready to hold an open debate with former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
“Let Viktor Orban find the courage. .. or you [Fidesz lawmakers] can convince him to take part in an open, live debate,” Magyar said in a speech to parliament.
The prime minister added that he was prepared for such a debate in the Romanian town of Baile Tusnad, where a political festival featuring Orban is regularly held at the end of July. Orban has also announced that he will speak there this year. Magyar said he was “ready to go” if invited by the organizers.
Hungary’s parliamentary elections were held on April 12. Magyar’s Tisza party won 141 of the 199 seats in parliament, while the Fidesz-KDNP alliance secured 52 mandates. The remaining six seats went to the right-wing Our Homeland party. No live debates between Orban and Magyar took place during the election campaign.