This year's parade of the Hungarian LGTB community has become a political event.
The reason is the politics of the right-wing national government, which is directed against sexual minorities.
Budapest - Tens of thousands demonstrated for the rights of non-heterosexual people (LGBT) on Saturday in Budapest, Hungary.
The annual march of the organization “Budapest Pride” took place this time against the background of the politics of the right-wing national prime minister Viktor Orban, which is increasingly directed against homosexuals and other sexual minorities. There are many indications that this will be one of the most important campaign issues. The organizers spoke of a record participation in the Pride March, around 30,000 people were there.
Orban's likely challenger in the spring 2022 general election, Gergely Karacsony, called for tolerance towards sexual minorities on Saturday night. “We were all created in the image of the Creator, and although we are not the same, we are equal,” emphasized Karacsony at the Pride closing ceremony. "How does whoever come to implement a policy of nefarity based on the Creator?" The left-liberal-green Karacsony has been mayor of Budapest since 2019. This autumn, Hungary's opposition parties will decide whether to support him as Orban's opponent in the parliamentary elections. His chances are very good.
In Hungary, children are not allowed to have access to information about non-heterosexual lifestyles - be it in school lessons or through publications. This is regulated by a new law that was passed in June at the instigation of the government. In addition, advertising that portrays homosexuals or transsexuals as part of normality is prohibited. The EU Commission is considering legal action against Hungary because of this law.
Orban announced a referendum on Wednesday in which Hungarians would vote on the content of this law. In addition, the head of government issued a regulation on Friday in which the Hungarian state is prohibited from accepting EU corona aid if Brussels makes its approval dependent on the abolition of the anti-LGBT law. As a result, the country could lose 7.2 billion euros from the EU development fund. dpa