Ágnes Kunhalmi of the Socialist Party said at the celebration that the current government “persecutes the freedom of opinion, controls the press and obstructs citizens’ initiatives and civil organisations”, which she said was reminiscent of a “very dark era of Hungarian history”, the Stalinist terror.

“The real oppressors are not in Brussels but on government”, Kunhalmi said. They “appropriate public wealth, ruin education and Hungarians’ health by letting the health care system rot”, she said.

Speaking at a joint celebration with opposition Együtt, Dialogue Party leader Gergely Karácsony said in Budapest that the revolution was “not the cause of an ideology” but of the nation.

At times “when Hungarian politics have to be renewed”, it is important for the opposition to be able to cooperate and “embrace its multifaceted nature”, he said.

Egyutt’s Viktor Szigetvári said the opposition should accept all “competitors fighting for liberal democracy according to a credible set of values and for their base”.

Együtt believes that “the Orbán government can be shaken and their re-election be hindered through clever opposition cooperation”.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Szigetváry Zsolt