Anti-Orban protests surge in Hungary

Bloomberg

Hungarian anti-government demonstrations showed no sign of abating after almost a month of rallies that have snowballed from workers’ demands to scrap a law on more overtime hours to a call for the end of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s illiberal rule.
After a holiday lull, thousands of people gathered in Budapest to resume the most sustained protest wave against Orban, whose disdain for liberal democracy have made him an icon for nationalist political forces across Europe. He has also angered labour unions, which are considering going on strike unless his government repeals what they’ve branded as the “slave law” because it boosts the amount of overtime employers can demand.
While Saturday’s demonstration appeared to be the biggest yet in a series of protests in the past month that have united a previously
weak and divided opposition, Orban’s Fidesz party remains Hungary’s most popular political group by far. Initial polls showed that almost a month of rallies have barely dented Fidesz’s lead, with its support at about the same level as that of the opposition combined.
“I came here to show my children that there’s such a thing as democracy and we can’t just give it up,” said Julia Nagy, an economist and a mother of three. With parliament dominated by Orban’s lawmakers, the opposition has said they have no choice but to protest what they consider to be the 55-year-old leader’s increasingly authoritarian tilt.