The banners were rainbow. The chants were defiant. And for the first time in over a decade, Budapest’s Pride march felt like a celebration, not a battle. Viktor Orban is gone. His illiberal crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights? Unwound. The result? Thousands took to the streets on Saturday, waving flags that had been banned, kissing partners who had been shamed. It was a spectacle of freedom. And Whitehall sources tell me the British government is quietly cheering.
Let’s not mince words. Orban’s fall was not a triumph of diplomacy. It was a collapse from within. Economic stagnation, a split with Brussels, a corruption scandal too big to bury. The man who called himself the ‘illiberal democrat’ was swept out in an election many thought rigged. His successor, a centrist technocrat, moved fast. The anti-LGBTQ+ ‘child protection’ law? Scrapped. The ban on Pride? Repealed. Civil society groups, long starved of funds, got their budgets back.
But this is not just a Hungarian story. It is a British story. For years, the Foreign Office watched Orban’s Hungary with dismay. Quiet cables warned of democratic backsliding. Boris Johnson’s government, torn between Brexit and values, did little. Sunak was more vocal, but action was sparse. Now, the new Hungarian government is looking west. It wants trade deals. It wants investment. It wants to be seen as a normal European democracy again.
At the Pride march, I am told British diplomats were spotted mingling. Not officially, of course. But a nod here, a handshake there. The message is clear: London sees an opportunity. If Hungary can become a beacon of tolerance in a region sliding towards authoritarianism, Britain can claim a win. ‘British values of liberty and tolerance,’ as one source put it, ‘are exportable.’
But there is a cautionary note. Backbench Tory MPs, the ones who cheered Orban’s ‘family policies’, are uneasy. They see this as a betrayal of traditional values. Senior Labour figures, meanwhile, are pressing for more. They want Hungary to enshrine same-sex marriage in law, not just tolerance. The new government is hesitant. It knows its base. Rural Hungary is not London’s Islington.
Still, the mood in Budapest was electric. I watched footage of a young couple, arms linked, tears streaming. ‘We waited 12 years for this,’ they said. ‘We thought we would never see it.’
The numbers are telling. Polling for the new government shows satisfaction at 58 per cent. That is high for a post-authoritarian state. But the real test will be economic. Hungarians want jobs, not just rainbows. If the government can deliver both, it might survive. If not? The hard right is lurking, waiting for Orban’s comeback.
For now, Whitehall is cautious but optimistic. A senior source told me: ‘This is a moment. We must not squander it. If Hungary can show that liberty wins, it sets a precedent for the region.’
I remember the dark days. The day Orban closed Central European University. The day he called migrants ‘poison’. The day Pride was met with water cannons. Each time, Britain protested. Each time, nothing changed. Now, change has come. And it came from within. That is the lesson. You can push from outside, but the real work is done by those who stay and fight.
So yes, Budapest held its first Pride since Orban left power. And yes, British values of liberty and tolerance were championed. But the real champions were the Hungarians who never gave up.
