Public outrage was sparked when information appeared in the media earlier this month that Last April, Katalin Nováková, as the then president, pardoned the deputy director of the children’s home, who helped the superior to cover up his abuse of ten underage boys.
Nováková, an ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and a member of his Fidesz party, announced her resignation on Saturday after criticism.
The current crisis is a direct strike to the heart of the Fidesz party, which proclaims the importance of family values and the protection of children, wrote the Bloomberg agency.
Orbán’s government in Hungary may not feel threatened by the protest given that parliamentary elections in 2026 are still a long way off. However, the Fidesz party hopes for success during the upcoming elections to the European Parliament, Reuters reported. The June vote on the mayor of Budapest is also at stake.
“We’ve had enough. We need a change, this government is riddled with lies and hypocrisy.” one of the protesters, 64-year-old József Molnár, told Reuters. He added that the last time he was at a demonstration was in 1989, when the communist regime was collapsing. His 19-year-old son also arrived at today’s protest rally.
“I hope that this movement will gain momentum, bring changes and stir Hungarians out of apathy,” protester Gabriella Ertinger, 22, told Bloomberg.
