Thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Friday at a 'peace march' staged by spoof political party, the Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP) "to support government policies, Christmas and snowfall" -- the latest in a string of demonstrations stoked by controversial legal reforms.
The rally follows a number of anti-government demonstrations in the past week, which have forged fragmented opposition parties into a rare coalition against Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The passage of two laws last week backed by Orban's Fidesz party have angered a variety of domestic voter groups. One, dubbed the "slave law", allows employers to ask staff to work up to 400 hours per year of overtime. Another would set up new courts, which critics say could be exposed to political meddling.
The MKKP started over a decade ago as a joke, but has become a semi-serious force, using humour to tackle real issues.
"I wanted to come because I consider the dog party to be the most serious of all in the current lineup, which is rather sad," said university student Almos Edes, holding a sign saying 'We promise everything' beneath a logo of Orban's ruling Fidesz.
The rally also took aim at other grievances, including the departure of a top graduate school, Central European University, founded by Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros, from Budapest.
Orban has said the protests have been partly stoked by activists paid by Soros, an accusation Soros' Open Society Foundation has denied.
The demonstrators were planning to end the rally in Buda Castle outside the Presidential Palace.
MKKP, which is not in parliament, had 3 percent support among voters in November according to pollsters Zavecz Research and Nezopont. Orban's Fidesz scored 36 and 38 percent in the two surveys, respectively.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters