Hungary’s Orban Moves to Downplay Pride Parade Protest

Prime Minister Viktor Orban sought to play down a backlash against his rule at Hungary’s weekend Pride parade, portraying it as a “shameful” event orchestrated by the European Union.

Protesters marched in Budapest on Saturday in solidarity with the LGBTQ community, flouting a government restriction on the event in the name of children’s rights. The size of the demonstration, estimated in the hundreds of thousands, highlighted surging opposition to Orban’s increasingly authoritarian 15-year rule.