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Orbán Challenger Promises New Era of Hungarian Politics at Massive Budapest Rally
"We were pitted against each other instead of allowing us to band together," said political newcomer Péter Magyar. "We will put an end to this now."
Apr 07, 2024
At least tens of thousands of Hungarians took to the streets of Budapest on Saturday to rally against right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and in support of a political newcomer who recently launched a movement that plans to field candidates in European and local elections in June.
Demonstrations against Orbán's increasingly autocratic 14-year rule were sparked by Péter Magyar, a lawyer and former associate of the prime minister who recently released an audio recording exposing corruption in the ruling Fidesz party. Protesters gathered Saturday in Kossuth Square outside Parliament, waving Hungarian flags and chanting "Orbán resign!", "We are not afraid!", and other slogans.
"Step by step, brick by brick, we are taking back our homeland and building a new country, a sovereign, modern, European Hungary," Magyar, 43, told supporters.
"Our elected leaders have incited the Hungarian people against each other for the past 20 years," he added. "Whether the fate of our country went well or we were close to bankruptcy, we were pitted against each other instead of allowing us to band together. We will put an end to this now."
One protester told Agence France-Presse that "something needed to be done because it's insane how much this government has gotten away with."
Magyar, the ex-husband of former Justice Minister Judit Varga, last month released an audio recording of his ex-wife discussing an attempt by members of Orbán's inner circle to interfere in a corruption case. Varga and Hungarian President Katalin Novak resigned in February over an unrelated child sex abuse pardoning scandal.
Zsuzsanna Szigeti, a 46-year-old healthcare worker attending Saturday's rally, told Reuters that "we had known that there is corruption, but [Magyar] says it as an insider and confirmed it for us."
Domestic and international critics have accused Orbán of systematically eroding Hungary's democratic institutions, tightening his grip over the country's political system, and consolidating control over much of the media to strengthen Fidesz and its parliamentary supermajority. European Union leaders have condemned Orbán's rule, calling his government a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy." Orbán describes it as "illiberal democracy," while touting its universal appeal to international conservatives, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee.
European leaders also bristle at Orban's warm personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, although the Hungarian leader did condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and voted along with the rest of the 27-nation E.U. to impose economic sanctions on Moscow.
Human rights have deteriorated markedly during Orbán's tenure, especially for LGBTQ+ people, migrants, women, and Roma. The E.U. has withheld billions of dollars in funding in response.
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Thousands Join Budapest Pride Parade to Protest Attacks on LGBTQ+ Hungarians
"A lot has happened over the last few years, and it's time to show that we're not okay with it," said one of the organizers.
Jul 24, 2021
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets Saturday for Budapest's annual Pride parade to protest the Hungarian government's recent attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, including a recently adopted law that aims to limit the discussion of homosexuality and transgender issues in schools.
"A lot of LGBTQ people are afraid and don't feel like they have a place or a future in this country anymore," Budapest Pride spokesperson Jojo Majercsik told The Associated Press.
That sentiment was shared by Mira Nagy, a 16-year-old Pride attendee who told the AP that "this year is much more significant, because now there are real stakes."
"Our situation is pretty bad," she said. "My plan is that if things get even worse, I will leave Hungary."
\u201c\u201cKids are raised straight, but some of them are born LGBTI, like me,\u201d said @renevanhell, the Dutch ambassador in Budapest.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s important for LGBTI children that they see positive role models... to become proud Hungarians,\u201d he said. https://t.co/HmC3MyV0IM\u201d— the Netherlands Embassy in Hungary (@the Netherlands Embassy in Hungary) 1627058102
Balint Rigo, a 27-year-old Pride organizer, told CNN that "a lot has happened over the last few years, and it's time to show that we're not okay with it."
"Minorities have been systematically attacked, and we're here to say enough," Rigo said, explaining that more attendees were expected this year because "people aren't just coming out for LGBTQ groups... they're coming out for minorities in general."
"There's power in numbers and we may not be able to change anything in the short term," he added, "but together we're a symbol of solidarity."
\u201cWHAT A DAY \u2764\ufe0f\ud83c\udf08\n\n30.000+ people in the streets in Budapest saying:\n\nWe are not an ideology.\nLove is love.\nAnd: Equality for all.\n\nBudapest pride was a full success in making clear:\n\nHungary is not Orb\u00e1n.\n\nThis gives so much hope for the future.\n\n\ud83d\udcf8 @CathrinKahlweit @Ricarda_Lang\u201d— Terry Reintke (@Terry Reintke) 1627151222
The new law from the ruling Fidesz party--supported by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban--bans presenting materials that are considered to promote gender reassignment and homosexuality to people under the age of 18 and calls for creating a list of organizations allowed to provide sexual education programs in schools.
Andras Kadar, co-chair of the Budapest-based rights watchdog Hungarian Helsinki Committee, told Politico in June that "the provisions banning the 'promotion or display of homosexuality' fit into the trend of hate-mongering policies this governing majority has adopted over the past years against various social groups."
"Provisions like these should not be adopted or implemented," he added. "They are harmful, shameful, and violate fundamental rights."
Politico noted that "the move comes after Hungary last year approved measures effectively barring same-sex couples from adopting children and preventing transgender individuals from legally changing their genders."
\u201cBudapest Pride Parade right now #Hungary\u201d— Lili Bayer (@Lili Bayer) 1627137424
Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced legal action against Hungary--and Poland--for "violations of fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people."
"On Hungary," the statement said, "the cases include the recently adopted law, which in particular prohibits or limits access to content that promotes or portrays the so-called 'divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change, or homosexuality' for individuals under 18; and a disclaimer imposed on a children's book with LGBTIQ content."
Orban responded by proposing a referendum on the new law, claiming that "in the past weeks, Brussels has clearly attacked Hungary over its child protection law. Hungarian laws do not permit sexual propaganda in kindergartens, schools, on television, and in advertisements."
\u201cThere were too many people around for me to post this video of the start of Budapest Pride, which organizers say is the biggest in its 26-year history.\u201d— Valerie Hopkins (@Valerie Hopkins) 1627143951
Critics of the law have pushed back against such claims from the prime minister that the LGBTQ+ provisions are about child protection and have accused the Fidesz-Christian Democrat government--which faces a tough election next year--of trying to appeal to right-wing voters.
"The law is an outrage," Istvan, a 27-year-old who marched with his boyfriend, told Reuters on Saturday. "We live in the 21st century, when things like that should not be happening. We are no longer in communist times, this is the E.U. and everyone should be able to live freely."
Zoltan Adam, an associate professor of economics at Corvinus University of Budapest, delivered a broader critique of Hungary's government during the event.
"We are standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ community but we are also standing with anyone threatened by global authoritarian discourse," Adam told The New York Times. "This law is another step toward authoritarianism taken by this government."
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