Gergely Karácsony received a standing ovation in the European Parliament and at the European Green Party’s parliamentary meeting for his role in ensuring that the Budapest Pride was held, defying Viktor Orbán’s authoritarian regime. On both occasions, the mayor of Budapest was applauded for minutes, recognizing what was already a major political victory over Orbán.
Orbán suffered a full-scale defeat over Pride. He failed to ban the event, failed to scare people away with threats, didn’t dare to shut it down or violently disperse it, and ultimately had to abandon plans to fine 300,000 participants. This marked Orbán’s most significant loss since 2010.
And it was Karácsony, not Péter Magyar, who handed him that defeat. Magyar had opposed holding the Pride event, revealing that he does not stand on the side of freedom and equality. He is not a democrat but a calculating far-right politician who is also the ideological heir to Orbán. In contrast, Karácsony stood firmly for democratic values.
This courage is what was recognized by the European Parliament. It was the first successful act of civic resistance since 2010, making it all the more baffling that Péter Magyar is considered the formal leader of the opposition, despite opposing Pride, denouncing protests over curtailed freedom of assembly, and refusing to participate in them.
As Ciarán Cuffe, co-chair of the European Green Party, rightly stated: “Mayor Gergely Karácsony has become a symbol of democratic resistance in Hungary.” Péter Magyar has never defeated Orbán in any context. Karácsony has. He stood up to Orbán’s oppressive system and rallied more people than any prior opposition effort.
The Green Party leader highlighted that “when the Orbán regime tried to stop this year’s Budapest Pride, Karácsony immediately took action, declared it an official municipal event, and ensured it could proceed safely. His message was clear: Budapest stands for love, freedom, and democracy and it will not be silenced.”
Vula Tsetsi, the other co-chair of the European Green Party, added: “Karácsony demonstrated what it means to stand up against authoritarianism and to defend European values. His party, Dialogue-Greens, joined the European Green Party in 2023. We are proud to count him as a member of our political family.”
Meanwhile, the Hungarian media campaigning for Péter Magyar, which has long abandoned journalistic neutrality, completely ignored the celebration of Karácsony. The splintered outlets born from the former Index news site, whose predecessor bears responsibility for Orbán’s rise to unchecked power in 2010, now openly campaign for Péter Magyar while masquerading as watchdogs.
Despite this, Gergely Karácsony remains the most experienced opposition politician in Hungary, now serving his second term as mayor of Budapest, standing firm against not one but two authoritarian figures: Viktor Orbán and Péter Magyar. Karácsony is a committed democrat. Magyar, on the other hand, dismisses the fundamental norms of democracy and the rule of law.
That is why Gergely Karácsony has become the true symbol of democracy and resistance in Hungary. During Pride, he decisively defeated Orbán. The crowd supporting him was three times larger than the largest rally Péter Magyar ever held, at a time when hardly anyone even knew Karácsony was organizing anything. It is no coincidence that Magyar no longer dares to hold rallies in Budapest, he would fail.
In light of recent events, Karácsony, as a democrat and Green, must be the one to challenge Orbán. He has already beaten both Orbán and Magyar, who did everything possible to sabotage Pride. But the people didn’t listen to Magyar; they stood with Karácsony. He is also the least divisive political figure on the scene, he harms no one.
Karácsony also offers a crucial guarantee: if Orbán’s regime is toppled, it won’t be replaced by another (younger, hungrier, more aggressive) version of Orbán. Magyar promises not constitutional change but merely a change in leadership. There would be no accountability for Orbán’s circle, and Fidesz would continue in opposition, preserving the system.
Péter Magyar is a populist, and populism is incompatible with democratic commitment. His leadership style is unfit even to run a political party. His ideology presents no meaningful alternative to Orbán’s. Replacing Orbán with „another Orbán” is not enough, Hungary needs a systemic change. Based on his statements, Magyar poses just as serious a threat to democracy and liberty.
A real democratic turnaround is only possible if the opposition is led not by the far-right Magyar but by the democratic Gergely Karácsony, who stands a far better chance of uniting all anti-Orbán voters than Magyar, who is widely disliked by democratic voters.
Karácsony has also proven himself on the international stage: he held constructive talks in the European Parliament with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about EU funding, advocating for Budapest and Hungarian municipalities to receive direct access to European resources, rather than falling victim to Orbán’s corrupt political system.
Karácsony conducts himself like a responsible opposition leader who can be entrusted with the leadership of the country. Péter Magyar cannot. If we want real systemic change, we must not follow new versions of Orbán, but genuine democrats like Gergely Karácsony. It is incomprehensible why we should abandon who we are or betray our values when the democratic candidate is stronger than Magyar.
We issued a timely warning about Péter Márki-Zay as well, calling for a change in leadership. It is not too late to replace Péter Magyar with Gergely Karácsony as the leader of the opposition. It would restore clarity and direction. Then we could await the fall of Orbán’s regime with hope, not anxiety.
