Tens of thousands of people, up to “one hundred thousand”, gathered in the center of Budapest in the largest demonstration in Hungary in recent years, demanding the resignation of Viktor Orban. Called to the streets by a 43 year old lawyer, Peter Hungarianwho emerges as a rising star of the opposition to the sovereignist prime minister at odds with Europe, leveraging the fight against corruption and the defense of the rule of law.
“There are one hundred thousand of us in the square, but with soul and heart millions are with us”, chanted Magyar, haranguing the compact crowd gathered in front of parliament at the end of a procession dubbed the “national march”. “Orban hand power back to the people. Hungarians, stand up. Don’t be afraid!” was the slogan of the demonstration which called for the resignation of the prime minister but above all it served Magyar to announce the foundation of a movement, called “You be the change!”, and of a party that will be competing for the European elections and the municipal elections in June.
Even if Magyar began to gain international attention only with a demonstration held last week, according to some polls his formation could gather 13% of the vote and become the main opposition force, currently fragmented and in fact unable to cope to Orban in power since 2010. Magyar fights against corruption and abuse, boasting that he knows them closely having been married to the former Justice Minister Judit Varga, who resigned last month in the wake of a scandal triggered by the pardon granted to a pedophile.
In Kossuth Square, he reiterated that he wanted a Hungary committed to European values and challenged the prime minister on his own field of nationalism while defending “the true interest of the Hungarians, against the private interests of the circle around Orban”. It is precisely due to issues of corruption and violations of the rule of law in terms of justice and media freedom that the EU continues to withhold two thirds of the 30 billion euros in funding intended for Hungary but frozen in 2022.
Accusations and shadows that form the backdrop to the case of Ilaria Salis, the far-left activist from Milan who ended up in the draconian traps of the controversial Hungarian justice system.
Speaking to a sea of heads among which some Hungarian flags were waving, Magyar – who marched at the head of the procession in white shirt sleeves holding a banner – urged government-controlled state television to invite him for a live interview in which he can tell the general public “which new Hungary we really want”.
“We will free our country”, “The nation has announced to the corrupt power: enough is enough, we are at capacity”, said among other things the former diplomat who entered the scene after the resignations handed in in February by two of the prime minister’s key allies: the president Katalin Novák and his ex-wife, with whom he engaged in poisonous controversies on social media which made him known.
Magyar’s publication last week of an audio recording on a case of manipulation of the documents of a corruption trial against a former undersecretary, deputy of his then wife, triggered a flurry of attacks against him by the information machine controlled by the prime minister: Orban’s men recalled that Magyar, as a former manager of a state company who also held positions in other public companies, was a beneficiary of the system he now attacks. His private and family life is also in the crosshairs and circles linked to the government are trying to reduce his electoral potential which also puts the rest of the opposition in difficulty but remains far from the absolute majority obtained by Fidesz, Orban’s party.
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