Ader said at the "Stop Autocracy" event that the Tisza government's amendment to the constitution in the pipeline signalled the destruction of Hungary's rule of law.

He said the government wanted to remove the sitting president in an unconstitutional and illegal manner, restrict voting rights, arbitrarily discriminate among constitutional judges over the age of 70, and eliminate the constitutional protection of Hungarian land and national assets.

Ader said the president could only be removed through an impeachment procedure, but since Sulyok had not committed any offence, the Tisza parliamentary group had no grounds to initiate such a process.

He added that any successor to Sulyok would lack the prestige to represent national unity. "If Tamas Sulyok is a puppet, then what are we?" he asked.

The one-time president criticised the proposal to limit the mandate of members of parliament to 12 years, which he said would prevent a significant portion of the current opposition MPs from standing for re-election.

He expressed concern over the "dramatic deterioration" of public discourse and warned that verbal aggression on social media could turn physical. "Now is the time to stop!" he declared.

Ader said the aim of those in power was to instil fear, but he sent a message to the "new holders of power": they were not afraid to speak the truth, expose lies, and protest against constitutional violations, verbal violence, intimidation, defamation, and the abuse of power.

He quoted the constitution, which states that everyone has the right and duty to take legal action against attempts to acquire or monopolise power through violence. "Why are we here?" he asked, answering with the words of Ferenc Kolcsey: "The nation above all else."

He recalled the forced resignations of Smallholders Party Prime Minister Ferenc Nagy in 1947 and Prime Minister Zoltan Tildy in 1948, stressing that he had entered politics nearly 40 years ago, participated in the opposition roundtable talks, and become the first freely elected member of parliament to ensure that such events would never happen again.

Fidesz communications director Bertalan Havasi said at the event that they stood by the constitution, legality, Hungarian democracy, freedom, and President Tamas Sulyok. He said they expected the president to stand by them and the constitutional order.

Havasi expressed confidence that Sulyok would not surrender to "a vulgar autocrat", would not resign, and would not accept any unconstitutional decision or legislation, not even one concerning himself.

Havasi said there was no need to fear "the pocket dictator, the traitors, or the bought lackeys". He said that although they were currently in the minority, they were right and would continue their work.

He urged people not to fear the prime minister, "the turncoats, those wandering in the dark, the two-thirds majority, the police ringing at dawn, or the algorithms".

Havasi declared that 99 percent of their political community had done their duty with integrity for 16 years in politics and everyday life, but he warned those building a dictatorship: there would be no reconciliation, no compromise, and no constructiveness.

 "Nothing will be forgotten, everything will be recorded, everything will be settled," he said, referencing a previous speech by Fidesz president and former prime minister Viktor Orban.

Fidesz MP Gabor Szucs said the government's planned amendment to the constitution would introduce unprecedented autocracy, which every decent Hungarian, including the Tisza supporters, should reject.

He invited right-wing influencer Istvan Sakacs, against whom police launched an investigation for a terror threat and whom they detained and later released on Wednesday morning, to the stage.

Influencer Elizabeth Toth said civilians had to fight for the country and urged right-wing MPs in parliament to do the same.

She claimed to have evidence that the Tisza government wanted to settle migrants in Hungary and promised to make it public. Priest Zoltan Osztie accused the Tisza government of using "the methods of both fascist and communist terror".

Several Fidesz and KDNP politicians attended the event, including KDNP leader Zsolt Semjen, who was greeted from the stage. The protest was streamed live on the Facebook pages of Fidesz and Orban, although the former prime minister did not appear at the event.

National flags and Szekler flags were visible in the crowd, and speakers were repeatedly interrupted by chants such as "filthy Tisza", "Viktor-Viktor", "wake-up call", "dictator", and "traitors".

A few counter-protesters also appeared with signs reading "Stop Autocracy, One Minute of Absurdity" and played a recording of Orban's "bug speech" from March 15 last year - Orban compared judges, journalists, opposition politicians, and civic activists receiving foreign funding to "bugs" that had "overwintered" -- through a loudspeaker.

Orban later posted on Facebook, thanking participants and writing: "Go, Tamas Sulyok, long live Janos Ader!"

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

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