Hungary’s Actor Turned Activist Joining Protest Movement Against Viktor Orban: Ervin Nagy’s Journey

by time news

2024-05-05 09:40:25

A famous actor in Hungary, Ervin Nagy left the stage and film studios to go to the streets. Like thousands of others, he is seized by Magyar fever, named after this dissent that opposes Viktor Orban.

On Sunday, he will take part in a large march in the city of Debrecen (east), the stronghold of the Prime Minister’s nationalist party Fidesz, a month before the European elections.

Since the arrival of Peter Magyar, a former senior civil servant who rebelled on the political scene in February, the 47-year-old actor has launched himself alongside him in this fight to “renew” the country Central Europe.

He even provided his sleeping truck from which the tribune spoke to the crowd one evening, spontaneously.

“We didn’t have time to find a podium,” Ervin Nagy told AFP. “It floated like the air of the 1956 revolution,” he enthuses, referring to the Hungarian uprising against Soviet rule.

– “Galvanized” –

Not since Viktor Orban’s return to power in 2010 has Hungary experienced such a protest movement, according to experts, which speaks of an unprecedented challenge to the leader.

After the scandal caused by the pardon granted to a man convicted in a child crime case, Peter Magyar was able to use the anger to draw thousands of people into the streets of Budapest.

“Apathetic and frustrated” by an indestructible power, “suddenly they were galvanized by the arrival of this reckless wise man,” says the actor.

Although he had supported the teachers’ cause in the past, he had no political ambitions until Peter Magyar contacted him. “He convinced me within an hour,” he remembers.

In less than three months, this new opposition figure has ousted the existing parties, with his conservative speech attacking the corruption that he sees as destroying the country.

His Tisza (Respect and Freedom) movement, which claims to be “neither left nor right”, is now credited with 25% of voting intentions among voters who are sure of their choice, according to a recent survey by the Intermediate institution with 1,000 people in light of the European vote on June 9.

His strength, for his supporters: knowledge of the system from the inside. A long-time diplomat in Brussels, the charismatic 43-year-old lawyer shared the life of Judit Varga, a former Minister of Justice, with whom he had three children.

– “Minor Dictatorship” –

If Viktor Orban brushes aside the arrival of this competitor, his party is “doing its best to thwart this wave of protest”, analyst Zoltan Lakner insists to AFP.

A new oversight authority, created to prevent “foreign interference” in the electoral process, launched an investigation against him.

“If Magyar manages to unite the voters of the opposition”, today fragmented into several small parties, it could be a great danger for those in power, according to the political scientist.

Even if others consider the movement to be short-term and incapable of destabilizing the solid foundation built by the Prime Minister, who has gradually brought the counter-powers into line over the past 14 years and has put in great propaganda according to the European Union , the UN and the ESCE. .

Not to be discouraged, Peter Magyar started a tour of the provinces several weeks ago to collect votes, and his visit to Debrecen gave him the opportunity to test his popularity.

On stage, he will be surrounded by many Hungarian celebrities “courageous enough” to appear alongside him, emphasizes Ervin Nagy, who claims to have been “blacklisted” because once he dared to criticize a member Fidesz.

Hungary is “a kind of mini-dictatorship”, he says. “They don’t beat you to death, but if you speak out against the authorities there will be consequences.”

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