“The Hungarians are rising!” »: giant demonstration in Budapest against Viktor Orban and his government

The government under pressure. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Budapest on Saturday, in support of a former close friend of the ruling team who has become a critic of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and who intends to challenge the nationalist leader.

The demonstration was called by lawyer Peter Magyar, who has shaken up Hungarian politics since he came to the forefront, in the wake of the scandal sparked in February by a presidential pardon in a child abuse case.

A crowd of around 100,000 people responded to his call on Kossuth Square in Budapest, in front of the parliament. Many waved national colors and carried signs that read: “Hungarians rise up!” “.

Creating a new part

“We will take back our country step by step, and brick by brick we will build a sovereign and modern Hungary,” Peter Magyar told the crowd. He said he would soon announce the creation of a new party, which will run in the European and local elections in June.

Peter Magyar, 43, is the ex-husband of a former Minister of Justice of Viktor Orban, Judit Varga, forced to withdraw from public life following the scandal of the presidential pardon granted to a man convicted in a child molestation case, who was released from prison.

Long in the orbit of the ruling party, Fidesz, Peter Magyar then separated himself from it, committing to challenge the “power factory” of Viktor Orban. Last month, he released a recording purporting to implicate a senior minister in a high-profile corruption case, and called on the attorney general to resign.

“Insane to see everything this government has been able to do”

“Peter Magyar’s initiative must be supported because with the current opposition it is hopeless to fight against Vikor Orban,” said Leo Szabo, a 49-year-old cook, among the demonstrators.

Tamara, 36, a sports trainer, who refuses to give her name, is still “skeptical” but she came to “do something, because it is insane to see everything this government has been able to do without being worried” . Peter Nagy, a 20-year-old student, is ready to give Peter Magyar a chance, because the Hungarians “have nothing to lose”.

According to a recent poll, a party created by Peter Magyar would garner the support of 11 to 15% of Hungarian voters. Viktor Orban, who has increased measures to restrict press freedom and strengthen his hold on the country, has been confronted since the pardon affair with the most serious political crisis of his 14 years in office.