Hungary’s queer community faces a crossroads as Viktor Orbán is challenged
As Viktor Orban’s grip on power is tested, queer Hungarians weigh hope against a history of repression.
Words by Gergana Krasteva
Panna Kotalik has lived most of her life under the rule of Viktor Orbán’s self-described “illiberal democracy.”
At 21, she has grown up watching the Hungarian government chip away at LGBTQIA+ rights – banning same-sex adoption, rewriting the constitution to define family strictly as a mother and father, prohibiting legal gender recognition for transgender people, restricting LGBTQIA+ representation to children and, most recently, banning Pride and broader protest rights.
Each new government measure has been like another punch on a loyalty card – the kind you get at a coffee shop – stamping one more restriction onto the lives of the country’s queer community.
After 16 years in power, Orbán’s far-right Fidesz party is now facing its first serious electoral challenge as polls now suggest that Peter Magyar – a former government insider who broke with the ruling establishment in 2024 – could pose a real threat.
