Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Wednesday, on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the anti-communist uprising, called on Hungarians to face Brussels as they faced the Soviet army in 1956. This happened after Orbán’s Fidesz party was overtaken in a public opinion poll for the first time since 2010 by an opposition group whose rally is to follow Orbán’s speech.
The Hungarian uprising began on October 23, 1956 in Budapest with a demonstration of 200,000 people demanding, among other things, free elections, the release of political prisoners, the removal of censorship and the departure of the Soviet Army, which had been in the country since the end of World War II.
The uprising ended in bloodshed when, on the night of November 4, 1956, sixteen divisions of the Soviet Army attacked the Hungarian capital using tanks and artillery. According to available data, at least 2,700 Hungarians and 722 Soviet soldiers died.
“Should we submit to a foreign power, this time from Brussels, or should we resist it? This is a serious decision that awaits Hungary. I propose that our answer be as clear and unambiguous as in 1956,” Orbán declared in front of thousands of people in one of Budapest parks. The AFP agency, which quoted him, called the prime minister’s words a new outburst against the European Union.
The Reuters agency, in turn, recalled the strong ties of “nationalist Orbán” to Russia and the scandal caused a month ago by Orbán’s associate and namesake Balázs Orbán, who criticized Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression and suggested that Hungary would not resist a Soviet invasion. Orbán, who gained popularity in 1989 when he called for the withdrawal of Soviet troops, called his colleague’s “ambiguous” words a mistake, while the Hungarian opposition leader condemned them as “treason”.
Forty-three-year-old media-savvy political newcomer Péter Magyar, who previously worked with Orbán’s government, can draw crowds to rallies of his new political party Respekt a svoboda (Tisza), where he accuses the government of corruption and abuse of the propaganda machine. The government denies the accusations, but according to commentators, Magyar is successfully exploiting voters’ frustrations with Orbán, who has been struggling with economic problems in recent months.
According to a survey by the Budapest-based 21 Research Center, the results of which were published today by the newspaper Partizan, Tisza has the support of 42 percent of voters determined to go to the polls, while Fidesz lags behind with 40 percent. When projected onto the entire population, Fidesz still leads with the support of 29 percent of voters over Magyar’s party with 26 percent. Two previous polls showed the ruling party’s narrowing lead, Reuters wrote.
Magyar’s party is able to capitalize on a widespread sense of doom among many Hungarians about other opposition parties that have failed to create serious problems for Orbán during his 14-year rule, Reuters noted. The next parliamentary elections in Hungary are to be held in 2026.
Video: Hungary is truly a tragic phenomenon. Now it serves the interests of Russia, says ex-diplomat Telička (6/9/2023)
“Hungary is a truly tragic phenomenon. It is a de facto Trojan horse in Euro-Atlantic society,” reports Pavel Telička. | Video: Aktuálně.cz