Tens of thousands of Hungarians in Budapest streets demand Orbán's resignation

(Patria) - Tens of thousands of people protested yesterday against Viktor Orbán's government in the center of Budapest, Reuters reports.

The protests were led by a lawyer who was previously close to the authorities, and recently launched a political movement against Orbán's rule.

Demonstrators marched to the parliament building, chanting "We are not afraid" and "Orbán, resign!"

Many carried the red-white-green national colors or the national flag, symbols that Orbán's party has used as its own for the past two decades.

"These are the national colors of Hungary, not the government's," said 24-year-old Leila, who traveled to Budapest from Sopron, a city on the border with Austria.

The protests were led by Peter Magyar (43), the ex-husband of Orbán's Justice Minister Judit Varga, who also plans to launch his own party.

Three demonstrators interviewed by Reuters said Magyar attracted them because he was close to Orbán's government and had inside knowledge of how it operated.

"We knew there was corruption, but he says it as an insider and that confirmed it for us," said Zsuzsanna Szigeti, a 46-year-old healthcare worker, carrying a Hungarian flag.

She also stated that she is concerned about the education and healthcare systems and due to corruption, adding that she believes changes will happen.

Magyar became known in February for fiery statements about the government's functioning. He also released a recording of a conversation with his ex-wife in which Varga detailed attempts by a senior associate of Orbán's chief of staff to interfere in a bribery case.

Prosecutors are now investigating the allegations from that recording. The investigation comes at a politically sensitive time for Orbán ahead of the European Parliament elections in June and following a scandal in February involving the pardon of a convicted child sex abuser, which led to the resignations of the former president and Varga.

According to a Mediana poll published by HVG magazine in mid-March, 68 percent of voters had heard that Magyar had entered the political arena, and 13 percent of them would likely support his party.