BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban mobilized tens of thousands of supporters in Hungary’s capital on Saturday, outlining a plan to unite the country and end the populist leader’s 14-year hold on power.
In the center of the demonstration, the last of the last series of protests against Orbán’s right-wing nationalist government, was political newcomer Peter Madjar, a former insider in Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party who rose to prominence in recent weeks for his allegations of entrenched corruption and cronyism among the country’s leaders.
Madjar addressed a crowd that filled the sprawling square near Budapest’s parliament building, announcing the creation of a new political community aimed at uniting both conservative and liberal Hungarians disillusioned with Orbán’s rule and a fragmented, ineffective political opposition.
“Step by step, brick by brick, we are taking back our homeland and building a new country, a sovereign, modern, European Hungary,” Magar said, adding that the protest was “the biggest political demonstration in years.”
Magar, 43, was once a member of Orbán’s political circle and is the ex-husband of ex-Justice Minister and Orbán ally Judit Varga. But he broke ranks in February as a result of a political scandal which led to the resignation of his ex-wife and the presidentand gained a large following with frequent media appearances in which he described Hungarian political life as being taken over by a privileged group of oligarchs and anti-democratic elites.
He argued that Orbán’s government was acting like a “mafia” and advocated a moral, political and economic transformation of the country that would curb corruption and create a more pluralistic political system.
“More than twenty years have passed while our elected leaders have pitted the Hungarian people against each other. “Whether the fortunes of our country were going well or we were close to bankruptcy, we were pitted against each other instead of being allowed to come together,” Madjar said. “We’re going to end this now.”
The Hungarian government dismissed Magyar as an opportunist looking to build a new career after his divorce from Varga and the loss of positions at several state-owned companies. But his rise has compounded political headaches for Orbán, which include the resignation of members of his government and a painful economic crisis.
Last month, Hungarian played an audio recording of a conversation between him and his ex-wife Varga, which he says proves that high-ranking officials conspired to manipulate court records to cover up their involvement in a corruption case. He called on Orbán’s government to resign and to restore fair elections.
Orbán’s critics at home and in the European Union have long accused him of undermining Hungary’s democratic institutions, taking over large parts of the media and changing the country’s electoral system to favor his party. The EU is withholding billions in funding for Budapest over alleged backsliding on democracy, misuse of EU funds and failure to guarantee minority rights.
One demonstrator on Saturday, Zoltan Kosler, said he wanted “a complete change in the system, which is now completely unacceptable to me.”
“I want to live in a normal rule of law, where the principles of the rule of law are really followed, not just on paper, but in practice,” he said.
Madjar said he would launch a new party to run in European and municipal elections this summer.
