00:00This politician has walked almost 300 kilometers in 11 days.
00:09As part of his million-step march, Hungarian opposition leader Péter Májar set out from Budapest
00:15for the Romanian city of Orádia on May 14th.
00:18His aim was to send out a powerful political message both at home and abroad.
00:23Májar says that the rule of Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orbán must end,
00:27and good relations with Hungary's neighboring countries must resume.
00:31Májar was welcomed by locals as soon as he crossed the border.
00:39Májar decided to embark on his march after Viktor Orbán gave a speech
00:43in which he expressed his support for Georges Simeon,
00:46a pro-Russia, far-right politician running for the presidency of Romania on May 18th.
00:51Simeon ultimately lost the race to his pro-European rival Niko Shurdan.
00:56When the regnálo-magyar minister-lelnök
00:59took a seat and sent out to our local Hungarian employees,
01:03the land and the party names.
01:05Eleven days after setting out from Budapest,
01:08Májar reached his destination.
01:10The city of Orádia, which was part of the Kingdom of Hungary until 1920,
01:14has a large ethnic Hungarian population.
01:17Some ethnic Hungarians in Romania have dual Romanian and Hungarian citizenship,
01:22which means they can vote in Hungarian elections.
01:24What began as a solo protest quickly turned into a movement,
01:28with thousands of supporters joining Májar for parts of his march.
01:32Májar says that the march symbolized a broader struggle for truth,
01:36justice and a more democratic Hungary.
01:38He concluded his speech in Orádia with a call to Hungarians to defend the unity of their nation
01:44and Romanian-Hungarian relations.
01:47It is the time that we don't want to be afraid of what is close to us.
01:52We don't want to be afraid of others,
01:55so that we can live in peace with each other.
01:58We can move on to the other side.
02:02As leader of the TISA, or Respect and Freedom Party,
02:05Májar has become Hungary's main opposition figure
02:08and Orbán's most vocal critic.
02:10Until February 2024, he was a member of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party.
02:15He then resigned, accusing Orbán's Fidesz of corruption and authoritarianism.
02:20Májar is expected to be Viktor Orbán's main rival
02:23in next year's Hungarian parliamentary election.
02:27The Budapest-Oradia march may be over,
02:29but Peter Májar's political battle is in full swing.
Comments