Less than two months before Hungary's election, opposition leader Peter Magyar has accused his rivals of planning to blackmail him with a secretly recorded sex tape, and says he is filing a complaint with authorities.
Magyar, who leads long-time Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the polls, said he suspected there were plans to release a tape from August 2024, when he engaged in consensual sex with an ex-girlfriend at a party.
He was responding to a photo recently posted online of a bedroom in an apartment dating back to then.
Leading figures in Orban's Fidesz party said they knew nothing about the claims. The BBC has approached Orban's spokesman for comment.
Magyar accused Fidesz of trying to blackmail him and made three allegations of unlawful conduct in a statement on Friday. Although no video has been published, he claimed one from that date could have been recorded with secret service equipment and possibly faked.
Magyar made no mention of the ex-girlfriend involved at the time of the alleged incident, although he previously accused her of extortion, which she denied.
She has since stated they are both victims concerning the alleged illicit video and expressed readiness to take legal action alongside Magyar.
Magyar accused Fidesz leaders of timing their campaign to coincide with the start of his nationwide campaign next week, which is intended to cast a shadow over the time he is spending with his three sons before the April election.
Fidesz communications director Tamas Menczer accused Magyar of lying, while Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas stated he could not comment without information.
Orban, Hungary's nationalist leader, has been in office for 16 years. With parliamentary elections on 12 April, Magyar's Tisza party is reported to be at least eight points ahead in recent opinion polls by Hungary's Idea Institute.
The Fidesz campaign has primarily targeted the European Union, accusing it of trying to dismantle Orban's government.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump praised Orban as a truly strong and powerful leader ahead of a visit from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reaffirming his endorsement for Orban's re-election.
The upcoming election campaign is not officially set to launch until 21 February, but Magyar's claims of underhanded tactics suggest that the political landscape may become increasingly contentious in the weeks ahead.
Over the past two years, Magyar has cultivated significant support in Hungary, pledging to improve relations with Europe. Once a loyal supporter of Fidesz, he was married to former justice minister Judit Varga, whose political career was marred by a scandal in 2024 that led to their divorce.
