|
Tens of thousands of Hungarians in new anti-Orban protest
[AlAhram] Tens of thousands of Hungarians erupted into the streets in Budapest for a second consecutive Saturday to protest against newly reelected Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The crowd marched through the city to a rally where speakers demanded a non-partisan public media.
Campaigning hard against immigration, the 54-year-old Orban's overwhelming victory April 8 saw his Fidesz party secure around half the vote.
| Last Saturday some 100,000 protestors held a protest in Budapest days after Orban's win. |
But among criticisms regarding the fairness of the election, observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation said the campaign was marked by media bias.
As part of sweeping reforms since he came into power in 2010, Orban has turned the public media channels into what his critics call "government mouthpieces".
Many of the demonstrators, most of whom were young, chanted "democracy" and brandished Hungarian and European Union
 ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
flags.
An organiser, Viktor Gyetvai, 20, told AFP the protest "was not going to change the system overnight"
but was aimed at sparking a "civil movement" to challenge Orban.
| But now you’ll have to do without Soros funds, which should make life interesting. |
"These are first steps, a sign that there are many Hungarians who want to live in a democracy, with independent institutions, and a free media," said Gyetvai.
| Democracies vote. Hungary voted. You lost. This, too, is what democracy looks like. Sorry. |
More demonstrations will be held in provincial cities in coming weeks, he added.
| Demonstrations after one’s side lost the vote are antidemocratic. Stop being fascists. |
Last Saturday some 100,000 protestors held a protest in Budapest days after Orban's win.
| Last Saturday 100,000, this Saturday tens of thousands — they’re depleting even faster than the Gazans. |
The victory handed Orban his third consecutive two-thirds parliamentary majority and a legislative free rein for the next four years.
| Like for Donald Trump, the big cities voted blue, but the rest of the country voted red — and red won overwhelmingly. Naturally, the blue regions find this unacceptable, accustomed as they are to running the country. |
Posted by: trailing wife 2018-04-22 |
