Fidesz concerned for the rule of law in Hungary, protests against amendment of Fundamental Law

The amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary proposed by the Tisza Party prompted Fidesz to organize a protest, as they are concerned for the rule of law and democracy in Hungary. A few thousand people answered the call to participate in the Thursday event held next to the Presidential Palace apropos of the fact that the 17th amendment would, among others, end the term of President Tamás Sulyok and allow for the election of a new president. (The removal of high-level state officials appointed by Fidesz from office was one of the main campaign messages of the Tisza Party, which more than half of Hungarians agree with and legal experts also consider justified.)

Other points the former governing party finds concerning are the reinstatement of the retirement age of 70 for members of the Constitutional Court (which would immediately remove the body’s current, Fidesz-appointed president), the establishing the National Agency for the Recovery and Protection of State Assets, which would be tasked with uncovering potential cases of corruption, malfeasance and misuse of public funds over the past sixteen years, and the introduction of a 12-year term limit for serving as a member of Parliament.

One of the speakers at the protest, the pro-Fidesz social media influencer-turned-parliamentarian Gábor Szűcs announced that they were all there “to stand up for democracy”, which is strange coming from the party which, over the course of four parliamentary terms, systematically dismantled the fundamental institutions of democratic decision-making and made it impossible for anyone other than themselves to initiate a referendum in Hungary.

One of the biggest names to speak was one of the founding members of Fidesz and former president of Hungary, János Áder. He noted that as someone who is retired, he would much rather be out fishing, but he agreed to speak at the protest because those in power are attempting to remove the president in a manner which violates the constitution, and because the proposed amendment amounts to the destruction of the rule of law. In Áder's opinion, the government's intention is to instill fear and intimidate. He encouraged those gathered with a quote from István Bibó, who said that being a democrat means not being afraid.

Fidesz’s Communications Director, Bertalan Havasi thanked everyone for the encouraging messages, and vowed to deliver them to Viktor Orbán, who, contrary to the expectations of many, was not in attendance. Havasi expressed support for the President, but also spoke about what they would like to see in return: “We stand with Tamás Sulyok, but we also expect the head of state to stand with us”. He said that Sulyok should not give in, he should stand up for constitutionality, he should not resign, and he should not sign any unconstitutional decision or legislation.

The event concluded with all speakers returning to the stage and everyone singing the national anthem together. An older man our reporter spoke with afterwards said that he really enjoyed the event, but he was sad that Orbán didn’t show up – he expected the former PM to be the surprise guest at the end.

Telex sent questions to Fidesz, inquiring about the reason for Orbán’s absence. Bertalan Havasi sent the following answer:

“I spoke with him about this both before and after the event. He didn’t come to the protest because he wanted it to be about the President of the Republic—that is, about the subject itself. After all, if he had shown up, he would have inevitably diverted the attention of both the participants and the journalists—we know from experience that this is usually how it goes. But the time for him to take the stage will come soon enough.”