Woke MPs Get Multi-Million Penalties for Smoke Flare Stunt in Parliament

Hungary Today 2025.03.21.

It appears to have been a costly mistake for Hungarian members of parliament from the liberal Momentum Movement to try to emulate their Serbian activist colleagues. The Speaker of the Parliament has handed out penalties to all trouble-makers in tune of tens of millions of forints.

The pre-planned protest broke out after the majority of MPs have voted for the amendment of the country’s child protection laws that could result in restrictions on LGBTQ propaganda or “Pride” marches. The radical-left MPs from the Momentum Movement, currently polling well under the 5% parliamentary threshold, have decided to light colorful smoke flares, emulating the Serbian left-wing opposition’s actions only a few days earlier. They have also held up posters depicting offensive scenes mocking the head of the government.

The misbehaving MPs have been punished by László Kövér, Speaker of Parliament, who not only banned them from the Parliament but also gave the protesting politicians penalties. The Momentum Movement responded in a Facebook post saying that they “tried to prevent the Hungarian people from being deprived of their basic right to freedom of assembly by throwing smoke candles, singing Soviet anthems and showing pictures of Putin and Orbán kissing.”

The parliament’s no nonsense Speaker did not see the humorous side of the stunt, and proceeded to hand down previously unheard of fines. Momentum’s own social media post informed that

the representatives were fined a total of 70 473 744 forints (176 thousand euros) .

Dávid Bedő, faction leader, received the heaviest penalty, he has to pay a fine of 24 025 140 forints (60 thousand euros) because of this actions. Lajos Lőcsei, Ferenc Gelencsér, Éva Sebők and Endre Tóth each “earned” a smaller “reward” between 9-14 million forints (22-35 thousand euros).

The Momentum MPs have tried to present themselves as the victims in the entire saga, calling themselves “the last defense” against what they regard as an attack on fundamental rights. With their Facebook post containing statements like “There is nowhere to retreat!” and “Today they take the right of assembly, tomorrow another fundamental right,” they paint a picture of a country leaning towards an authoritarian direction despite the fact that their protest was more of a spectacle directed toward foreign audiences, rather than a real debate.

Although the Momentum Movement see themselves as heroes standing up against alleged oppression, in reality, their support is shrinking. During the 2024 European Parliament election they could only obtain the votes of 3.7% of the population. Currently they are polling at around 1%.

No pyro no party. Serbian parliament turns into a brawl with flares & smoke bombs thrown around by MPs. The banner reads “Serbia rises up to bring down the regime”. pic.twitter.com/TnXZ2KrR66

— (@thecasualultra) March 4, 2025

Fact

The Momentum Movement was likely trying to cosplay as the Serbian MPs who also protested a similar way in the first week of March. In Serbia they not only used pink and black smoke bombs but also threw eggs as they raised banners accusing the government of corruption. The co-leader of the Green-Left Front, Radomir Lazovic, who let off a fire extinguisher from his seat in the building, described the intervention as “a response to the violence that has been perpetrated against the citizens of Serbia for 13 years”, says BBC‘s article.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić dismissed the antics as it was nothing more than “hooliganism”. He made it clear that he expects consequences, calling for the full force of criminal law to be applied.

Opposition Politicians Throw Tantrum in Parliament with Smoke Flares over Pride Ban

The incident occurred after the parliament voted on the amendment of the assembly law to ban Pride.Continue reading

Featured Photo: Facebook/Kocsis Máté