Tens of thousands of Hungarians are demonstrating against the government, a protest led by political rival Orban

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated against the government of President Viktor Orban in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, on Saturday. The demonstration was led by Peter Magyar, who has been considered Orban's political rival for some time and intends to create his own party. Hungarian media wrote that the protesters spoke out against corruption in Hungarian politics, among other things.

The demonstrators marched to the parliament building, many of them demanding Orbán's resignation. Many of them wore red, white and green clothing, the national colors, or brought the flag of Hungary. “These are the national colors of Hungary, not the government's colors,” one protester told Reuters.

The 43-year-old Hungarian, who was previously married to Orban's former justice minister, Judit Varga, came to prominence when Chief Cabinet Secretary Antal Rogan was accused of spreading propaganda at the end of February. Magyar also posted an audio recording between himself and Varga on YouTube and Facebook, detailing how Orbán's chief of staff's staff wanted to hide evidence in the corruption investigation.

An alternative to Orban

In a response on Facebook, Varga confirmed the clip was real, but also said she had been pressured by Magyar. The Public Prosecutor is currently investigating the matter. After this section was published, a large demonstration also took place in Budapest at the end of March.

With the protests and the possibility of creating a party, Hungarians are responding to significant dissatisfaction among the population with the current government. He presents himself emphatically as an alternative to Orban, but also as an alternative to the divided Hungarian opposition parties.

“We knew there was corruption, but he said it as an insider and this confirms what we already knew,” one protester told Reuters on Saturday. In addition to corruption, protesters said they were also concerned about the quality of education and health care.

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