Tens of thousands to attend rival rallies as Hungary’s election campaign kicks off

Budapest marches by ruling Fidesz party and opposition Tisza will take place in a highly polarised political climate

Tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out for rival rallies by Viktor Orbán’s ruling party and his main opponent as they kick off campaigning for elections next year in a highly polarised political climate.

The anniversary on Thursday of Hungary’s thwarted 1956 uprising against Soviet rule holds a central place in the ideology of the populist far-right Fidesz party, which was once firmly anti-Soviet but has grown closer to Russia under Orbán.