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| Opposition in Hungary Demonstrates Against Orban, in Rare Display of Dissent | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BUDAPEST — Opponents of Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orban, demonstrated on Sunday for the fourth day in the past five, in what has become one of the most sustained displays of street opposition to Mr. Orban since he entered office eight years ago. | BUDAPEST — Opponents of Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orban, demonstrated on Sunday for the fourth day in the past five, in what has become one of the most sustained displays of street opposition to Mr. Orban since he entered office eight years ago. |
| The protests began on Wednesday as a reaction to two new laws: one that forces employees to work up to 400 hours of overtime a year, and a second that created a parallel judicial system that will severely undermine judicial independence. | The protests began on Wednesday as a reaction to two new laws: one that forces employees to work up to 400 hours of overtime a year, and a second that created a parallel judicial system that will severely undermine judicial independence. |
| By Sunday, the demonstrations had become a catchall protest against many aspects of Mr. Orban’s increasingly autocratic governance. | By Sunday, the demonstrations had become a catchall protest against many aspects of Mr. Orban’s increasingly autocratic governance. |
| The protesters, whose numbers peaked at an estimated 15,000 on Sunday, held relatively small events, given that Mr. Orban was re-elected in April with nearly 50 percent of the vote in an election that observers said was free but not fair. | The protesters, whose numbers peaked at an estimated 15,000 on Sunday, held relatively small events, given that Mr. Orban was re-elected in April with nearly 50 percent of the vote in an election that observers said was free but not fair. |
| But analysts were struck by the rare unity of the protesters, which included several parties from across Hungary’s fragmented political spectrum, and also by their persistence. They braved below-freezing temperatures, despite being branded as treasonous agents of George Soros, the Hungarian-American philanthropist, by most major private and public media outlets, which are mostly controlled by allies of Mr. Orban. | But analysts were struck by the rare unity of the protesters, which included several parties from across Hungary’s fragmented political spectrum, and also by their persistence. They braved below-freezing temperatures, despite being branded as treasonous agents of George Soros, the Hungarian-American philanthropist, by most major private and public media outlets, which are mostly controlled by allies of Mr. Orban. |
| Around 2,000 protesters marched several miles through the snow to the edge of Budapest late Sunday night to gather outside the state media headquarters, which has become a symbol of Mr. Orban’s government because of its constant support for the prime minister’s agenda. | Around 2,000 protesters marched several miles through the snow to the edge of Budapest late Sunday night to gather outside the state media headquarters, which has become a symbol of Mr. Orban’s government because of its constant support for the prime minister’s agenda. |
| “Factory of lies,” the crowd chanted outside the building, before being sprayed with tear gas by riot police officers. | “Factory of lies,” the crowd chanted outside the building, before being sprayed with tear gas by riot police officers. |
| Peter Kreko, the executive director of Political Capital, a Budapest-based research group, observed the protest from a distance. “How long this will go on for, we really don’t know,” he said. | Peter Kreko, the executive director of Political Capital, a Budapest-based research group, observed the protest from a distance. “How long this will go on for, we really don’t know,” he said. |
| “But it’s a significant mass — in the sense that it seems there is a committed opposition against the government, and I do think it can be the starting point of a broader movement,” Mr. Kreko added. | “But it’s a significant mass — in the sense that it seems there is a committed opposition against the government, and I do think it can be the starting point of a broader movement,” Mr. Kreko added. |
| A spokesman for the government, Zoltan Kovacs, dismissed the demonstrations, saying, “We all know that there’s no popular support behind what is happening.” | A spokesman for the government, Zoltan Kovacs, dismissed the demonstrations, saying, “We all know that there’s no popular support behind what is happening.” |
| An opposition lawmaker, Akos Hadhazy, entered the state broadcasting headquarters, hoping to discuss the protesters’ demands on air. His request was denied, and he was roughed up early Monday by security guards after he refused to leave the premises. | An opposition lawmaker, Akos Hadhazy, entered the state broadcasting headquarters, hoping to discuss the protesters’ demands on air. His request was denied, and he was roughed up early Monday by security guards after he refused to leave the premises. |
| A video filmed by a fellow lawmaker showed Mr. Hadhazy being carried away by several guards, an unusually vivid display of the control Mr. Orban exerts over Hungarians’ access to information. | A video filmed by a fellow lawmaker showed Mr. Hadhazy being carried away by several guards, an unusually vivid display of the control Mr. Orban exerts over Hungarians’ access to information. |
| “This is a bastion of their power,” Mr. Hadhazy said in an interview before entering the broadcasting headquarters. “Eighty percent of people get their information from the government.” | “This is a bastion of their power,” Mr. Hadhazy said in an interview before entering the broadcasting headquarters. “Eighty percent of people get their information from the government.” |
| Since entering office in 2010, Mr. Orban has provided a template for democratic backsliding that has since been mimicked in Poland, and provided inspiration to far-right leaders in Italy, France, the Netherlands and, most recently, Brazil. | Since entering office in 2010, Mr. Orban has provided a template for democratic backsliding that has since been mimicked in Poland, and provided inspiration to far-right leaders in Italy, France, the Netherlands and, most recently, Brazil. |
| He has steadily eroded Hungary’s democratic institutions, including reshaping the electoral system to favor his party and co-opting most of the news media in order to starve the opposition of exposure. | He has steadily eroded Hungary’s democratic institutions, including reshaping the electoral system to favor his party and co-opting most of the news media in order to starve the opposition of exposure. |
| “We feel it is the last chance to stop the dictatorship,” said Marton Bartha, 28, who was protesting outside the state media headquarters on Sunday night. “Maybe dictatorship is a strong word. But our freedom is being shrunk.” | “We feel it is the last chance to stop the dictatorship,” said Marton Bartha, 28, who was protesting outside the state media headquarters on Sunday night. “Maybe dictatorship is a strong word. But our freedom is being shrunk.” |