Peter Marki-Zay, the Hungarian left wing's prime ministerial candidate, made a grossly inaccurate statement regarding his popularity to a Serbian news site, and he also lied in connection with something else.

In a lengthy article, the Serbian Nova news portal examined the popularity of the joint PM candidate of Hungary’s left-wing opposition parties, as well as his chances of winning the elections. When asked by the portal, Mr Marki-Zay confidently stated that he stands a chance to defeat Hungarian PM Viktor Orban in this year’s election.

Using former PM Ferenc Gyurcsany’s deceitful rhetoric, the left’s candidate told the portal that there was no free press in Hungary; only a few media outlets are independent, adding that all regional newspapers were in the hands of (Hungarys ruling -ed.) Fidesz party.

Speaking about the path which resulted in the current alliance of Hungary’s opposition parties, he admitted that it was far from smooth. The idea that Fidesz could be defeated at the national level if all the opposition parties joined forces first emerged after the municipal elections in Hodmezovasarhely (a city in southeast Hungary), he told the Serbian news site. He added that he had made it clear that he would only become a joint candidate if he received support from all the opposition parties.

Regarding the opposition primaries, Mr Marki-Zay came up with yet another lie when, according to Nova.rs, he stated that

he reached a higher popularity rating in the first round than Gergely Karacsony, Budapest’s current mayor.

The reality is that Mr Marki-Zay ended the first round in third place, far behind Klara Dobrev, the Democratic Coalition’s (DK) candidate and Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony.

In the interview, Mr Marki-Zay also stressed that odds showed that it is either he or Budapest’s mayor who can beat PM Orban, and that

Klara Dobrev’s victory in the primaries would bring about a disaster.

Later, Mayor Gergely Karacsony announced his withdrawal and threw his weight behind Mr Marki-Zay, who managed to defeat DK’s candidate with the votes received as result, the Serbian news portal points out.

Opposition parties are fighting for their own seats in parliament, all wanting to secure as much support as possible for their respective party, the leftist candidate told Nova.rs, highlighting the powerful role guerrilla marketing and influencers play in the campaign.