Easter shock in the campaign’s final stretch
What many in Budapest had been expecting as the campaign’s last jolt arrived on Easter. In Serbia, two backpacks containing four kilograms of explosives were found only a few hundred meters from TurkStream, the pipeline that carries Russian gas into Hungary and that Viktor Orban calls vital for the country’s security.
That was enough to push the alert level to its maximum and reopen a familiar political front just under a week before the crucial April 12 vote. The targets, once again, were opposition challenger Peter Magyar and, as usual, Volodymyr Zelensky.
The mood of the escalation is visible even on the road linking the airport to central Budapest, where billboards pair the faces of Magyar and Zelensky under the governing party’s warning: “They are dangerous. Stop them. Choose Fidesz.” Subtlety, as ever, did not make the shortlist.
Blame, denial and a familiar list of suspects
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto quickly blamed Kyiv for the alleged sabotage of the gas pipeline, after similar accusations tied to the Druzhba oil pipeline and a separate spying case. The Kremlin was happy to add its own fuel, saying the chance of Ukrainian involvement was “high.”
Ukraine denied the claim “categorically.” Magyar, for his part, dismissed the whole thing as a false flag operation, allegedly coordinated with Moscow and Belgrade to interfere with the vote.
The explosives, described as “two large packages of explosives with detonators,” were discovered in Kanjiza in northern Serbia, near TurkStream, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said. He also warned of a real risk to human life.
Orban calls in the military
Once informed, Orban summoned the National Defense Council on Easter Sunday and ordered the army deployed. He then announced at dawn that he would travel to the border with his trusted ally Szijjarto to inspect the pipeline situation in person.
“The situation is extremely serious,” Orban told cameras, reviving the memory of the Druzhba attack. He argued that while Russian oil carried by that damaged pipeline can be replaced, any serious strike against what he called a more important artery, the one bringing Russian gas, could bring the Hungarian economy to its knees.
He also suggested that the suspects were actors who had wanted to “blow up” the infrastructure.
European skepticism and a suspicious timetable
That version did not go down well in Europe. Polish Defense Minister Radoslaw Sikorski pointed to a “convenient and suspicious” timing, and reporting by The Washington Post added to the unease by describing possible staged operations, including the idea of a fake attack on Orban himself.
Magyar says panic will not save Fidesz
Magyar said that neither fearmongering nor emergency rhetoric would stop “millions of Hungarians ready to close the two most corrupt decades in the country’s history.” After the Easter break, he plans a final sprint, especially outside the biggest cities, to stay close to voters and pull in the undecided.
For now, though, the country’s attention is shifting to Budapest, where JD Vance is expected. After an institutional meeting at Orban’s residence, the U.S. vice president will join him on stage at Mtk Sportpark, east of the capital. The venue is more used to sports than speeches, but politics has never been shy about borrowing a good stadium when needed.
It will be the highest-level American visit to Hungary since George W. Bush in 2006, a sign of how much is riding on Donald Trump’s bet on his closest European ally and on the broader alignment that, at the other end, connects with Vladimir Putin.
