Protesters to demand resignation of Hungarian politician for anti-Roma remark | Hungary
Thousands of people will gather in Budapest to demand the resignation of a senior Hungarian politician who made a racist statement against Roma people earlier this month.
Immigration is not the solution to the country’s labor shortage, János Lázár told participants at a political forum. Lázár used an aggressive expression in his speech, saying that this job would be done by Roma people, “since there are no immigrants and someone has to clean the toilets on InterCity trains.”
The videotaped remarks went viral and triggered widespread backlash. Hungarian Roma organizations, NGOs and opposition politicians demanded that Lázár, a senior ally of right-wing populist prime minister Viktor Orbán, apologize and resign. “He crossed all limits,” said Péter Magyar, leader of the largest opposition party, Tisza.
The scandal comes 10 weeks before an election that could make or break the rule of Orbán’s Fidesz party, which came to power for a second term in 2010.
“Fidesz is finished, its mandate is over permanently,” said 18-year-old Roma activist Ádám Lakatos, organizer of Saturday’s protest.
Independent polls show Tisza, the center-right party founded in 2020, with a steady lead ahead of Fidesz. Anger over Lázár’s racist remarks may further increase undecided voters’ interest in the ruling party.
Lázár apologized but refused to resign and recently stood by Orbán at a party event. He did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
Long scapegoated by the government, Roma communities face poorer living conditions, higher levels of poverty and lower life expectancy than the rest of the Hungarian population.
“Fidesz has not created or supported jobs during its 16 years in power. [Roma] “families,” said Szandi Minzári, a 37-year-old international policy expert of Roma origin. He said Roma people were over-represented in low-paid public jobs and this could be exploited by local politicians. independent organizations This has raised concerns that public works programs are being used by officials for electoral gain.
33-year-old activist Bernadett Orbán (no relation to the Prime Minister) said: “Lázár’s resignation will be a positive move for Fidesz, it will help regain some Roma support and will set an example.” But I don’t think he will resign.”
Orbán and his partner Tamás Könyves are not Romani but will attend Saturday’s protest. Könyves, 51, who will give a speech at the event, said: “I feel it is my duty to raise my voice for the Roma community and defend them.”
Fidesz has faced growing public anger in recent years. In 2024, party president Katalin Novák resigned after mass demonstrations broke out over the decision to pardon a man convicted of covering up allegations of child sexual abuse at a state-run orphanage.
There were also protests in 2025 following reports of systematic abuse at a juvenile detention center. The opposition demanded the resignation of Orbán’s government for inaction.
“Fidesz’s actions have become unacceptable for Hungarians, Europe and the whole world,” said Lakatos, who grew up under state surveillance.
Both main parties increased their voting base last year, but as Tibor Závecz of the Závecz Research Institute emphasizes, this growth was driven primarily by smaller parties and not from large undecided voters.
“And it looks like Fidesz is taking voters away from the far right,” Závecz said. While anti-Roma speeches may gain the trust of these voters, they may also alienate up to half a million hesitant voters.
Balázs Böcskei, a political scientist and research director at the Institute of Ideas, says it is surprising that Fidesz’s campaign did not help the party gain much ground. He attributes this partly to strong opposition and partly to a series of “public policy failures” in “every area that matters to people today”, citing the economy and social services.
