At the covered market one stallholder estimated 90% of the people here were Fidesz supporters.

One of them, a pensioner called Agota, complained about the opposition’s intention to embrace the European Union and Ukraine: “Their approach to Hungary is not what it should be. It’s a realistic fear to be dragged into the war.”

Anti-EU and anti-Ukraine rhetoric is a staple of the Orbán campaign, repeated on pro-Orbán TV and news sites, and portrayed by Fidesz posters of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky alongside Magyar with the words “They are dangerous!” underneath.

One of Hungary’s richest men, György Wáberer, has accused Fidesz of “fear-mongering” about the EU and Ukraine while cosying up to the Kremlin. “12 April is a fateful date: You will decide whether you want to belong to Europe or to the Russians!” he said, prompting an angry response from the state secretary in Orbán’s office, who said he was betraying the party and selling out.

Péter Magyar has welcomed Russian “propaganda” TV crews to his rallies, telling them that they can look forward to real “regime change”, and his supporters have chanted “Russians go home”, a sign that many Hungarians have had enough.

The same chant was repeated at an Orbán rally too, where protesters disrupted the prime minister’s speech.

Orbán’s ties to Putin have meant cheap fuel supplies for Hungarians throughout the Russian full-scale war in Ukraine. But the words “Russians go home” resonate here, dating back to 1956 when Moscow sent in the tanks to crush Hungary’s revolution against Soviet occupation.

At a florists’ stall in Székesfehérvár, Eva, 73, believes it is time for a change, while her daughter-in-law Andrea sees Péter Magyar as arrogant and his supporters loud.

“Fidesz rule has to stop, they stole a lot and the country’s dying,” says Eva, who believes 90% of people in the market still back them. “Tisza supporters only see the bad things about Orbán,” Andrea retorts. “If you look around in the city, they renovated six schools, and built new buildings in the hospital.” That may be true, Eva argues, but she complains many of the public contracts in Hungary have been mired in corruption.

Corruption and cronyism have pushed many Orbán voters away from the governing party, both on a local and a national level. Big public contracts were handed to his inner circle and independent media companies were bought up by his allies.

After 16 years in charge, Fidesz may finally have run out of road.