We often struggle to comprehend issues beyond saying we can only do X and can’t do Y. This isn’t just struggles about what policy we talk about, but a whole series of issues, being more Left or Right, defending held seats to building more. We forget that we have many, many facets, and that they can get bigger if we think bigger; becoming that big tent, being a movement, being a complicated, growing party.

But in April 2026, the Hungarians successfully proved that you can in fact have your campaign cake and eat it, under much harsher, first-past-the-post-on-steroids conditions, with a hugely well organised, well funded, nay, international, Far-Right coalition against them. TISZA under Magyar Peter managed to mobilise everyone from the centre right to the far left to win a historic 2/3rds majority from nothing, and hold that level of popularity as I write. When we put this into perspective, our hurdles are slightly smaller.

I have listed a series of strategies that the Hungarian TISZA Party, with Magyar Peter, successfully pulled off. I hope these lessons help build the ability to take advantage of all the skills and people our party not only has, but could have, with broader horizons.

The Cost of Living, Health Care, and Europe, three things which we’ve run on in the past were central to the TISZA message. It also poked big holes in their opposition’s government style and strategy, whilst being shamelessly populist and implementable. They also did stunts (a winter heating support campaign) which was not only wildly successful but built a fantastic narrative about a hands-on, proactive, caring leadership willing to break the mould.

Anti-Corruption. Peter ruthlessly drove home a campaign on a clean-up-politics message. He also used himself and his former Fidez (that’s the party of Orban), links, to make himself more, not less, credible, poacher-turned-gamekeeper, as were many of his team, without any reservations about former ties or record.

Tisza Islands. A federalised party model maxing out its volunteer networks and membership with neighbourhood level teams designed to build community politics and redeploy activists into key target areas from across the country. It also allowed everyone from the hyper-political, to celebrities, to the average joe to participate in activist activities, in or out of house. There were also a lot of third-party(non-party political) organisations around that facilitated the direction TISZA was going that TISZA was intuitively aware of.

Disruptive/Constructive. TISZA flexed between forcing awkward issues at the European Parliament, to cooperating when they felt they could pitch it as gracious cooperation. However, when the system didn’t work, they worked outside of it, building their own external media and activist ecosystems that weren’t tied up by a political economy that was firmly under Fidez control.

Channelling Populism. (Oh no!) Oh yes, being unafraid to talk up big populist ideas and tax policies backed that the public bought into. They even used plebiscite methods to whip up interest and ideas. Oh, and absolutely slamming the Orban elite/regime and framing themselves as being in the national interest. This was done whilst firmly holding the credentials of being the party of investment and business.

The National Interest. If you can frame yourself as fighting for the national interest, and your opposition as not doing that, then you can win practically every argument in politics. This also came in the guise of being pro-EU within reason.

Squeeze harder. Legacy liberal/socialist/conservative parties were all completely swept aside in all target constituencies to make way for TISZA, in part, because they framed themselves as the first-preference, fresh-start, big tent movement, with a strong local presence & feeling of momentum.

Bigger Tent – A huge push was made to facilitate a broad church, mass movement. They used every level of the Membership/activism/being a lay person, engagement funnel, not just vertically, but laterally. Every level of engagement was used to project core messages. They also used every member of the team, and every qualification they had to advocate for lots of different specialist issues. Delivering leaflets and knocking on doors is not the be-all and end-all of politics.*

Momentum. Build your own political economy, your own narrative, and your own messages. Do not get buffeted around by other people’s stakeholders. TISZA & Magyar went from being nobodies and a mockery, to successfully changing entire departmental directions and an entire media and propaganda system within days of being office. If pitched right, you can make it impossible not to talk about the party in any political conversation.

* Theo Brown works for a Lib Dem MP but is writing in his own capacity.