Mass Protests Erupted In Hungary Over Children
- 14.12.2025, 11:54
Orban has been called on to resign.
Large-scale protests have erupted in Hungary against the country's Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The protesters are calling on the odious head of the Hungarian government to resign.
The reason for the Hungarians' discontent with Orban was his sluggish response to the scandal over child abuse by the head of a penal colony in Hungary. The details were revealed by Bloomberg.
What is known
In four months, Hungary is due to hold new parliamentary elections in which Orban and his political force could lose power in the country. Against this backdrop, a mass protest was held in Hungary, which could further undermine the ratings of the current prime minister: people took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with Orban's reaction to the scandal of child abuse in a state institution.
The scandal erupted after a video was leaked online at the beginning of this week, which recorded violent actions of the head of a juvenile correctional facility in Budapest against "wards". In particular, the video shows that the official struck a boy lying on the ground, and another teenager - hit his head on the table.
The outrage of a petty official outraged the Hungarian public, under the pressure of public condemnation, he resigned from his post, after which he was arrested. It is known that law enforcers raided the penal colony and detained several other employees.
But people's indignation was caused by the reaction to these events from the current Hungarian government: officials tried to shift the blame on the affected minors, emphasizing that they, they say, are criminals themselves. The culmination of the scandal was the actual confirmation of this position in an interview by Orbán himself.
The statements of the incumbent prime minister and his associates were not unreasonably assessed by the Hungarian opposition as shifting responsibility onto the victims of violence. Therefore, the leader of the opposition Tisza party Peter Magyar (this political force now has the most support among Hungarians, according to social surveys) called on compatriots to take to the streets. He also suggested Orban resign immediately, accusing the government of failing to protect children in state care.
And the people heeded Magyar's call: large numbers of protesters on Saturday marched from downtown Pest across the Danube to the Buda Fortress, where the offices of Orban and current Hungarian President Tamas Suljoka are located.
"This is a story that makes my stomach turn, particularly the government's reaction or lack of reaction to it. Even if these protests won't necessarily have an immediate impact, it's important to get your message out so close to the election," one protester told reporters.
Bloomberg recalled that this is not the first time such a scandal has occurred in Hungary. Not even two years ago, an ally of the incumbent prime minister, then-Hungarian President Katalin Novak, was forced to step down because of Hungarians' dissatisfaction with her decision to pardon a defendant in a pedophilia case at a state-run orphanage.