Hungary has officially ousted anti-LGBTQ Viktor Orban, electing a new prime minister Peter Magyar. Orban served as PM for 16 years, and in that time, he brought forth a number of authoritarian policies.
Orban’s party, Fidesz, lost by a landslide to Magyar’s Tisza party, according to reports from PinkNews. Orban was an ally of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, but Magyar hopes to draw Hungary away from relations with Russia and strengthen bonds with the European Union and Ukraine.
Just last year, Orban banned Pride in Hungary via a bill which prohibited assemblies in “violation” of child protection laws, which included the display of homosexuality or gender diversity to minors. Still the LGBTQ+ community showed up with the support of leaders from throughout the E.U., reminding Orban that Pride is a protest after all. The parade saw upwards of 200,000 people in attendance.
When pride was banned, Magyar pointed out it could have been a political strategy to distract from other issues in Hungary causing widespread suffering. He assured that if he was elected, he would protect the public’s right to assembly. Despite this, PinkNews indicates Magyar has been criticized for not speaking more openly about his stances on LGBTQ+ rights. His campaign did not propose changes to current LGBTQ+ policies imposed by Orban.
Experts have predicted that Magyar was hoping to positioning himself in the favor of conservative voters from small towns, confident he already had the votes of urban residents.
A rights activist, Geza Buzas-Habel, told AFP during the campaign run “the main opposition [Magyar] is unwilling to communicate on LGBTQ rights, so we must pressure them.”
Following the Pride parade in 2025 support for the queer community in Hungary has continued to increase, and local activists and allies hope that this will push Hungary forward to meet its E.U. neighbors in supporting equality for LGBTQ+ people.
Magyar will officially take office in Hungary in early May.
