Hungarian activists wary as new PM stays quiet on LGBTQ+ rights

Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, is facing early concern from LGBTQ+ advocates after avoiding clear positions on queer rights throughout his election campaign.

According to Viktória Dombos, director of the Hatter Society, Magyar’s team made a deliberate choice to sidestep the issue. “They very strategically and tactically avoided discussing this topic,” she said. “They did not want this topic to dominate the election campaign. They focused on areas seen as less divisive, such as healthcare or corruption.”

RFI reports that for activists, the silence is alarming. Dombos notes that while Magyar pledged to halt the erosion of civil liberties associated with Viktor Orbán’s long tenure, he “failed to make very clear commitments to LGBTQI+ rights”.

Orbán, in power since 2010, oversaw what Dombos describes as “a series of pieces of legislation” that steadily dismantled protections for LGBTQ+ people. Over more than a decade, the government banned legal gender recognition, restricted adoption by same-sex couples, removed gender identity from anti-discrimination provisions, limited minors’ access to LGBTQ+ content and prohibited Pride-related events in various ways.

“These measures made our work more difficult, but not impossible,” Dombos said. “The real obstacles came from banning certain types of activities.” Transgender people and LGBTQ+ youth were particularly affected. Many, he added, chose to leave Hungary or seriously considered doing so.

At the same time, a segment of the community responded by becoming more active. “They stood up for their own rights. They started volunteering in organisations,” Dombos said.

Hungary did not descend into the level of overt repression seen in Russia, but Dombos argues that Orbán’s policies helped entrench hostility toward queer people. “I don’t think it fundamentally changed how people think about the LGBTQI+ question,” he said, “but they did encourage the expression of hatred and negative feelings.”

He recalled a case in which a man threatened a lesbian couple with a knife on a tram and later claimed he was acting on the prime minister’s message that homosexuality should have no place in public life.

In response, Hatter — which Dombos calls “the oldest and largest LGBTQI+ organisation in the country” — expanded its legal and educational work. “We have taken dozens and dozens of cases to domestic courts,” he said, noting that some have now reached European judicial bodies. The group also invested in public education and training initiatives.

Despite the hostile political environment, Dombos points to gradual social change. “The political climate was terrible, but the social climate was slowly but increasingly more welcoming,” he said. A public campaign on same-sex parenting, for example, appears to have shifted attitudes dramatically. “In 2019, only 17 percent of people agreed fully that a same-sex couple can also be good parents. Now over 60 percent of people agree with this statement.”

As Magyar’s government takes office, activists are watching closely to see whether this emerging social acceptance will be reflected in policy. “Our first hope is that after 16 years, there will be change,” Dombos said. But he cautioned that a mere pause in hostile rhetoric will not be enough.

“It’s not sufficient to say, ‘We’re no longer targeting the LGBTQI+ community,’” he argued. “The legislation that has been adopted in the past six or seven years has to be revoked.”