Passage of two laws last week backed by the prime minister’s Fidesz party angered a variety of domestic voter groups, galvanizing the weak and divided opposition to act with a unity rarely seen in his eight years in power. The protests in Budapest raised the question of whether such fledgling cooperation can last long enough to put down roots and offer viable opposition to a charismatic politician normally adept at side-lining dissent. While no substantial shift in Hungary’s domestic balance of power appears on the cards for now, there is a sense among some Hungarians that Orban overplayed his hand by pushing through the two laws that drew such a concerted opposition response.
