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| Dr. Eva Havasi, prominent Hungarian sociologist and current UF Hungarian lecturer, poses with an image of Budapest's Zero Kilometre Statue to show her support for the anti-taxation protesters. |
On
Tuesday, October 28, 2014, more than 100,000 Budapest residents took to the streets to protest
the passage of an Internet tax by Prime Minister Victor Orbán’s right-wing conservative government, whose
isolationist, nationalist policies have raised eyebrows in the West for years.
The tax, which charges “700 forints ($3) per month for individuals and 5,000
forints ($21) for companies,”[1] was seen by many to be the
last straw in a slew of levies imposed by the government since 2010, when Orbán’s
Fidesz party was elected to Parliament in a landslide referendum. Allegations
of creeping authoritarianism, and images of Hitler and Prime Minister Orbán splattered
across protest signs has brought about renewed hope that perhaps the
fragmented, and badly bruised liberal parties may be able to reattain a real
legislative presence in the Hungarian Parliament come election time. In any
case, the galvanization of Hungarians in Hungary and across Europe this week seems
to be an awakening, proof that perhaps Magyars are increasingly unsatisfied
with the reactionary, anti-Western polis of their government.
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Images courtesy of @YourAnonGlobal via https://www.twitter.com. Accessed through RT News, October 29, 2014,
http://rt.com/news/200315-hungary-internet-tax-protest/ (accessed October 30,
2014).
[1] “100,000+
rally in Hungary over internet tax despite government concessions,” RT News,
October 29, 2014, http://rt.com/news/200315-hungary-internet-tax-protest/
(accessed October 30, 2014).
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