For the first time in over a decade, Budapest’s Pride parade marched without the shadow of Viktor Orban’s regime. A 50,000-strong crowd flooded the capital’s avenues on Saturday, waving rainbow flags and chanting for a liberal renaissance. The event, once a target of state-sponsored suppression, passed without police interference – a stark contrast to the tear gas and arrests of previous years.
Orban, who fled to Moscow in December after a no-confidence vote, left behind a wrecked judiciary, a compliant media, and a constitution rigged against change. Yet within weeks, Hungary’s interim government scrapped the notorious ‘anti-LGBT propaganda’ law, a move that emboldened activists to reclaim the streets.
‘We are not afraid anymore,’ said Gabor Szabo, a 29-year-old teacher who attended with his partner. ‘Orban tried to erase us, but he is the one who is gone.’
The UK government, through a Foreign Office statement, praised the ‘peaceful demonstration of democratic freedoms’ and pledged £2 million in aid to Hungarian civil society groups. ‘Britain stands with those who fight for equality and the rule of law,’ read the statement, signed by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. The money, sources confirm, is earmarked for legal defence funds for LGBTQ+ people and human rights monitoring.
But the liberal resurgence is fragile. Orban’s Fidesz party still holds 40% of parliamentary seats and has vowed to boycott any reform. ‘This is a coup dressed up as a parade,’ said Fidesz spokesman Balazs Hidveghi in a televised rant. ‘We will not let them destroy Hungarian values.’
The real struggle lies in the economy. Orban’s cronies looted state coffers, leaving a €12 billion hole in the budget. The new prime minister, Eva Katalin, has asked the EU to release frozen funds, but Brussels is demanding a full anti-corruption overhaul. ‘They want justice, but we have no money to pay judges,’ a finance ministry source told me.
Meanwhile, the streets are alive. After the parade, thousands gathered at the Hungarian Parliament, chanting ‘Orban out, democracy in.’ Police stood by, arms folded. No arrests were made. It was, as one activist put it, ‘the first day of a long, uncertain dawn.’
I have covered Budapest’s Pride since 2014, when I watched police beat marchers with batons. This year, I saw a father hoist his daughter onto his shoulders, her rainbow flag catching the sun. That image, more than any political statement, tells the real story. But don’t be fooled: Orban’s ghost still haunts these streets. The money trail leads to Moscow, and the bodies are not yet buried.
