Fidesz Holds First Mass Rally Since Election Defeat

Fidesz and its coalition partner, the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), held a large anti-government demonstration under the banner “Stop Arbitrariness” on Thursday evening outside the Sandor Palace, the president's official residence in Budapest, according to the Hungarian daily Nepszava.

The rally marked the first official mass rally by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban's party since its defeat in the April parliamentary election. Fidesz said it was protesting the new Tisza government's 17th constitutional amendment.

Under the proposal, Prime Minister Péter Magyar would end President Tamás Sulyok's term early and introduce a 12-year limit on parliamentary service. Based on the government's proposal, the limit would apply to time already served by lawmakers, potentially preventing many long-serving lawmakers from Fidesz and other parties from seeking re-election.

Orban also urged supporters to attend the rally, calling on social media for resistance against what he described as Tisza's tyranny.

Magyar has repeatedly described Sulyok as a puppet of the Orban regime, but the president said in May that he intended to serve out his full term.

Responding to Thursday's demonstration while on a trip abroad, Magyar mocked the protest, saying that even people in Istanbul had laughed at Fidesz's attempt to present itself as a defender of constitutionalism and democracy. He compared the situation to the proverb about a thief shouting, “Catch the thief!”

(max)