Formation and name The party was founded in
Eger on 23 October 2020 by local politicians and entrepreneurs Attila Szabó and Boldizsár Deák, and planned to contest the
2022 Hungarian parliamentary election. "Tisza" is a
portmanteau of the first syllables of the
Hungarian words (respect) and (freedom). This is a play on words: the
Tisza, Hungary's second-longest river, is a well-known motif in Hungarian literature and national symbology. The name is used as a theme in party campaigns, with current leader Magyar often referencing it. For example, in reference to the frequency with which the Tisza floods the
Great Hungarian Plain, "the Tisza is flooding!" () has become a popular chant at Magyar's rallies.
Péter Magyar's involvement The party remained relatively inactive until 2024.
Péter Magyar, the former
Fidesz politician and ex-husband of former justice minister
Judit Varga, came onto the political scene after the
pardoning scandal in which President
Katalin Novák pardoned a man who attempted to cover up child sexual abuse. As Minister of Justice, Varga also had to sign the pardons and was therefore complicit in the scandal. Magyar organised his first protest on 15 March, the anniversary of the beginning of the
1848 Hungarian Revolution. Events were also held by both the government and the traditional opposition parties, but his demonstration garnered much more attention. After this, Magyar proceeded to cause yet another scandal for the government, as he published a recording relating to the Schadl–
Völner corruption case involving two senior officials. In the recording, his ex-wife—the Minister of Justice at the time—admitted that documents relating to the trial had been altered at the orders of the government. As he presented this information to the jury, a protest crowd of around one thousand gathered outside, demanding the resignation of the government. (excluding Magyar) In March 2024, Magyar announced he wished to contest the
2024 European Parliament election in Hungary; however, he could not found his own party due to election deadlines and registration processes. Prior to the announcement of which party Magyar would join, pollsters like the government-aligned Nézőpont Institute suggested that a Magyar-led list could win multiple seats and 13% of the vote. In April, it was announced that Magyar would join Tisza. In the European Parliament election in May 2024, Tisza came second with almost 30% of the vote and 7
seats; this performance was characterised by the media as a challenge to the ruling
Fidesz of
Viktor Orbán. Magyar initially did not take his seat and had said he would not do so during the election campaign. He decided to put it up to a vote on the party's website: over 75% voted in favour of him taking a seat, and as such he was one of the 7 Tisza MEPs.
Run up to the 2026 parliamentary election Grassroots support Following the European Parliament result, Tisza began to build up a membership and a local base, as the party had not had much success prior to Magyar's involvement. In order to build up a base across the country and be able to effectively contest more rural constituencies in the
2026 Hungarian election, the party set up "Tisza Islands" (), a network of local supporters and potential candidates. As of January 2025, analysis of social media suggested that there were 208 "islands", with over 20,000 members in total. Moreover, Magyar conducted press stunts such as walking across the country with supporters. In July 2024, Magyar assumed the leadership of the party from founder Attila Szabó, who was instead given the title of honorary president. In July 2025, Tisza launched
Tiszta Hang (meaning "Clear Voice"), which the party said was a newspaper that would be delivered by volunteers in an attempt to reach rural voters. The first copies, of which they printed almost one million, were delivered from the 8–10th August. After reading the first copy,
444.hu claimed that
Tiszta Hang was more of a programme booklet than a newspaper.
"Voice of the nation" In March 2025, Magyar announced that he would launch an informal referendum questionnaire, asking people 13 questions. The questionnaire could be filled out online or in person, and would inform the party's policy. There were 1,137,266 responses to the questionnaire. Most questions saw over 90% of respondents vote in favour, though the final (+1) question on Ukraine's position in the EU was more contested, with 58% in favour. The full results are as follows: At the congress, the party announced that they would hold
closed primaries for all their constituency candidates, with members choosing, in rounds, 1 out of 3 approved candidates. Magyar declared that the party would run independently without any other party. During Magyar's speech to the congress, he set out his plans for if Tisza were to win the 2026 election, saying they would need to act immediately to kickstart the country, with the motto of this work being "System change, peacefully, responsibly." Magyar labelled this plan the "Hungarian New Deal", and it primarily focused on what they would invest the money he argues they can reclaim from the EU on. Much of the policy built upon that voted on in the "voice of the nation" questionnaire.
2025 partisan primary After a call for candidates in 2024, the party selected 103 of its 106 future candidates for the
2026 parliamentary election in a two-round primary in late 2025. The party put forward 3 nominees in each district (except the district of leader Péter Magyar and 2 other seats) and in the first round all Tisza Island members above the age of 16 could vote. Voting took place via a modified
Borda count. In the second round, voting was opened also to all resident citizens above 18 who could vote for either of the two advancing candidates. Winners were announced on 28 November 2025.
2026 parliamentary election During the campaign for the
2026 election, the party adopted the slogan "Now or never!" (). In the latter stages of the campaign, signs appeared with "or never" crossed out to convey urgency. Tisza ended Orbán and Fidesz's 16-year tenure in a landslide, winning a two-thirds
supermajority in the
National Assembly. In so doing, it acquired the power to amend the
Constitution of Hungary without the need for support from other parties. Tisza was assured of at least 136 seats, and ultimately won 141 seats after votes from the
Hungarian diaspora were counted. In terms of percentage of the Assembly controlled, it is the largest mandate that a Hungarian party has won in a free election. The result closely tracked independent polling that showed Tisza leading Fidesz for almost two years by wide margins, while pro-government pollsters predicted a Fidesz win. ==Ideology and policy==