Tens of thousands of people protested against the government of President Viktor Orbán in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Saturday. The demonstration was led by Péter Magyar, who has been considered Orbán's political challenger for some time and intends to set up his own party. The demonstrators spoke out against, among other things, corruption in Hungarian politics, write Hungarian media.
The demonstrators walked in a march to the parliament building, several calling for Orbán's resignation. Many wore red-white-green clothing, the national colors, or brought the flag of Hungary. “These are the national colors of Hungary, not those of the government,” one of the demonstrators told Reuters.
The 43-year-old Magyar, previously married to Orbán's former justice minister, Judit Varga, rose to prominence when he accused Chief Cabinet Secretary Antal Rogan of spreading propaganda at the end of February. Magyar also published an audio recording between himself and Varga on YouTube and Facebook, in which she explains in detail how employees of Orbán's chief of staff wanted to make evidence in a corruption investigation disappear.
Alternative to Orbán
In a response on Facebook, Varga confirmed that the clip was real, but she also said she had been pressured by Magyar. A public prosecutor is currently investigating it. Following the publication of the fragment, a large demonstration also took place in Budapest at the end of March.
With the protests and the likely establishment of a party, Magyar responds to great dissatisfaction among the population about the current government. He emphatically presents himself as an alternative to Orbán, but also as an alternative to the divided Hungarian opposition parties.
One protester told Reuters on Saturday: “We knew there was corruption, but he said it as an insider and that confirms what we already knew.” In addition to corruption, demonstrators said they were also concerned about the quality of education and health care.
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