EU Regional Council President Expresses Support for Budapest Pride
The President of the European Committee of the Regions, Kata Tüttö, had expected EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to attend the banned Pride event in Budapest on Saturday. Tüttö, a social democrat, told the Spiegel that the Commission President’s presence would have sent a strong signal of safety and a powerful symbol of the European Union’s engagement, standing alongside its citizens in person.
Politicians from across Europe attended the event and Tüttö noted that the Commission President’s presence would have also meant protection for Hungarian participants, as the police would have had to take necessary precautions. The overwhelming majority of the tens of thousands of protesters, she said, were Hungarian citizens fighting for their freedom. “The support of our European friends strengthens this fight” Tüttö added.
The large number of participants, according to Tüttö, is a sign that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán might be at the end of his term. It was Orbán, she recalled, who announced the ban on the Pride event. “From history, we know the pattern of how autocrats behave when they see their power waning – they become more restrictive” Tüttö said. “The Viktor Orbán system could collapse soon.