The protests were led by Peter Magyar, a former government insider who plans to oppose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in downtown Budapest to protest against the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Saturday's protests were led by Piotr Magyar, 43, a former government insider turned critic who was once married to Orban's former justice minister, Judith Varga.
Magyar addressed a crowd that filled a vast square near the parliament building in Budapest, aiming to unite conservative and liberal Hungarians disillusioned with Orbán's government and a divided and ineffective political opposition. announced the creation of a new political community.
“Step by step, brick by brick, we are taking back our homeland and building a new, sovereign and modern European country, Hungary,” he said, calling the protests “the biggest political demonstration in years.” He added that it was.
According to reports, more than 10,000 people are expected to take part in the demonstration.
Some demonstrators marching toward parliament chanted “We are not scared” and “Orbán resigns!”
Many were wearing red, white and green national flags or holding the flag that Orbán's party has used as its symbol for the past two decades.
“These are Hungarian national colors, not the government's,” Leila, 24, who traveled to Budapest from the country's western border town of Sopron, told Reuters.
Magyar became a government whistleblower in February and became widely known for his inflammatory comments about the inner workings of Orbán's government.
In March, he published on his Facebook page a recording of a January 2023 conversation with his ex-wife, Varga, in which she said that close associates of Orbán's minister, Antal Rogan, had accused him of corruption. It detailed attempts to intervene in prosecutions centered on the incident. About former Secretary of State for Justice Pal Volner.
“They suggested to the prosecutor what should be removed,” Varga said in the recording.
Magyar said the tape proves that high-ranking officials in Orbán's government are corrupt, and he has given the tape to Budapest's Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office to use as evidence.
The department said it would analyze the tapes and collect further evidence.
“More than 20 years have passed since elected leaders incited the Hungarian people against each other. Whether the fate of our country is going well or not, we will be on the verge of bankruptcy,” Magyar said at Saturday's march. But instead of being united, we were at odds with each other.
“I'm done with this now.”
Orbán under pressure
The Hungarian government dismissed Magyar as an opportunist as he tried to build a new career after divorcing Varga and losing his jobs at several state-owned companies.
But his rise has compounded Mr Orbán's political headaches ahead of June's European Parliament elections.
It also follows the sexual abuse scandal that ousted two of the prime minister's key political allies, the former president and Mr. Varga, in February.
According to data from the polling firm Median released by the weekly news magazine HVG in mid-March, 68% of voters said they had heard about Magyar's entry into politics, and 13% of them were likely to support the party. I answered that it is highly sexual.
On Saturday, some protesters also said they appealed to Mr. Magyar because he is close to Orbán's government and has inside knowledge of how the government works.
Zuzanna Szigeti, a 46-year-old medical worker wearing a Hungarian flag covering her entire body, told Reuters: “We knew there was corruption, but he said it as an insider and for our sake. He recognized that,” he told Reuters.
She added that she was concerned about the education and health systems, and also about corruption.
“I believe change will happen,” she said.
