In his speech, Puzser said "resistance has started". People have gathered because they felt they had "responsibilities and tasks" in Hungary, he said. Unless Hungarian citizens took politics into their own hands, "every regime change will be but a change in gangsters, just like in 1990 and 2010," he said. A strong, capable citizenry could "force the implementation of fundamental moral and cultural norms and the national minimum", he added.

Puzser said the government was trying to exhaust society, "and their every step is leading towards Minsk". After 15 years, "it is time we healed from the sickness called illiberalism ... not because we are liberals but because this regime is restoring feudalism."

"Civil resistance will become a season, not just an episode; it will last as long as the regime of feudal authoritarianism, because that can't be fixed, only toppled," Puzser said.

Independent lawmaker Akor Hadhazy said the government had thought there would be "a few little demos, than the people would get tired". But people are there week after week, and they are not stopping, he said. "The powers that be got a little scared and postponed the vote on the law of making [NGOs] impossible, but we continue to demand that it be withdrawn," he said.

Hadhazy said demonstrations, strikes and road blocks disrupting traffic were necessary "but only if many people participate". "Hungarians love their freedom, but don't believe they are strong enough and that enough of them think the same way."

He announced another demonstration in downtown Budapest for next Tuesday.

Lili Pankotai, a content creator, said Hungarians were at a crossroads: today, they could still decide whether they wanted to live in a "free Western country or in an Eastern, Russian-type regime". If they chose the former, step number zero would be "soul-searching" on how the country got to a point where "the question is whether there will be a full-blown dictatorship in our homeland".

Author Andras Lanyi demanded that "the path of public monies to private pockets and then back to party coffers" be made public. He said the "enrichment of straw men" must be made transparent, as well as the legal and financial background of the "Hungarian funding provided for foreign far-right parties".

Lanyi said Hungary's sovereignty could be protected "not from Europe but through Europe, for example from the spread of Russian imperialism in central and eastern Europe, of which the Hungarian government is an obedient tool."

He said that "unless Prime Minister Viktor Orban is chased from even the vicinity of Parliament, out children will leave the country."

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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