As frustration with strict coronavirus restrictions grows worldwide, more and more political parties are trying to reach out to people who oppose lockdown measures. In Hungary, the far-right party Mi Hazánk is trying to address this group of voters, but a new party tied to Hungary’s most well-known coronavirus skeptic also seems to be emerging.
On Sunday, Dutch police clashed with anti-lockdown protesters in Amsterdam and Eindhoven, which was the second Sunday in a row that law enforcement officers had to fight off citizens angry about the covid restrictions in the country.
As a result of the increasing unrest in the past months, similar demonstrations had been reported in many other European countries including the UK, Germany, and Poland as well.
As the frustration of many citizens rapidly increases, several parties across the continent are trying to express their unrest by criticizing the governments’ measures.
Only a few months ago, one of the UK’s most prominent Eurosceptic politicians Nigel Farage, announced that he wanted to relaunch his Brexit Party as Reform UK and focus on protesting against what he describes as the government’s overly restrictive coronavirus policy. Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has also been trying to gain a boost of supporters from the coronavirus pandemic.
Naturally, there are political formations in Hungary as well which find the Orbán government’s lockdown measures unreasonably excessive.
Hungarian non-parliamentary far-right party Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland) has joined the initiative of Hungarian catering businesses, launching a ‘civil disobedience movement’ to alleviate the hardship caused by the lockdown rules in Hungary.
The party announced last week that it would start collecting signatures for the reopening of catering places, gyms, swimming pools, theaters, and sports halls, encouraging owners to reopen if they can deal with the financial consequences. Mi Hazánk is also launching a fundraiser to cover the fines.
Mi Hazánk is also protesting against discrimination against those who do not want to get vaccinated. Everyone should have the right to decide their own fate, those who think differently should not be discriminated against, according to the party.
Next to Mi Hazánk, a new political party under the name of ‘Party for a Normal Life’ was also recently formed. Although we don’t know much about the political formation, according to tabloid Blikk it is deeply connected to Hungary’s most well-known coronavirus skeptic, ‘pharmacist-influencer’ György Gődény, involved in a “fake party” scandal a few years ago, whose Facebook page was even banned for misinformation he was spreading on the platform.
Featured photo by Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI. In the photo: Mi Hazánk leader László Torockai
