Budapest Pride Parade Set to Continue Amid Government Ban, Testing Orban's Leadership

The Hungarian government’s ban on Pride events this weekend has cast Prime Minister Viktor Orban into a challenging dilemma. His party, Fidesz, swiftly passed legislation in March, making gatherings like Pride illegal, citing the need to protect children from materials that “propagate” homosexuality. Analysts viewed this as a strategic move against the rising opposition leader, aiming to corner him as a liberal. However, it seems to be Orban who is now entrapped.

In defiance of the ban, the Budapest Pride parade is poised to take place on Saturday, transformed by the city's liberal mayor, Gergely Karacsony, into a celebration of Hungary's regained freedom following the exit of Soviet troops in June 1991. The event, now officially named Budapest Pride Freedom, is expected to attract tens of thousands of attendees, with over 70 members from the European Parliament joining in. In light of the ban, the mayor anticipates that this may scale to Hungary's most significant Pride event, with predictions suggesting at least 50,000 participants.

Orban and the Fidesz party are now left with a critical decision: enforce the ban and potentially penalize participants or allow the parade to proceed, which would risk portraying their administration as ineffective and yielding to public dissent.