Hungarian Political Camps Flex Muscles in Rival Demos

Thousands of Hungarians gathered Wednesday for rival rallies for and against controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orban, with the divided opposition joining forces for the first time.

The demonstrations, six months before elections in the former communist EU member, took place on a public holiday marking the anniversary of the start of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising.

The opposition rally, which organizers hope will attract 100,000 people, was held close to the city's Technical University where the revolt began, and a big screen showed images from 57 years ago.

"Now our most important, our only goal is to get rid of Orban and his dictatorial tools. We simply have to stick together, that's what we all want," said protester Iren Hader, 62.

The opposition event brought together for the first time the Socialist party and smaller groups like the Democratic Coalition (DK) and an alliance led by former premier Gordon Bajnai.

"We will show the regime that despite our differences we haven't forgotten that the enemy is Viktor Orban, not each other," a spokesman for the Together 2014 party, part of Bajnai's amalgamation, told Agence France Presse earlier.

Since sweeping to power in 2010 with a two-thirds majority in parliament for his right-wing Fidesz party, Orban has sought to shake up 10-million-strong Hungary with a tidal wave of often controversial legislation.

The 50-year-old premier, due to make a speech at around 1400 GMT in one of Budapest's main squares, says the reforms are necessary to see through the transition from Hungary's four-decade communist era.

The country recently emerged from recession while inflation and unemployment have eased.

But Orban has been accused at home and abroad of consolidating his power, undermining basic rights, and criminalizing the poor, as well as spooking foreign investors.

Still, surveys show Orban enjoys a comfortable lead among decided voters although around 50 percent of the population are undecided .

An Ipsos survey last week showed almost half of Hungarians wanting a new government, while recent municipal elections have produced close results.

However, the opposition's sense of unity could quickly fade once the banners have been folded and everyone has gone home, analysts say.

"They don't have an Orban, someone who is a clear leader of not just his own party but almost the entire right-wing," Attila Juhasz, an analyst with the Political Capital consultancy, told AFP.

Socialist leader Attila Mesterhazy and Bajnai, who returned to politics a year ago, both nurse ambitions to be prime minister.

Neither wants to appear too closely linked with Ferenc Gyurcsany, the most charismatic opposition figure.

Some in the opposition see him as an electoral liability after a leaked speech, in which he admitted lying to win an election, that sparked riots in 2006.

"It's natural that we have differences of opinion, that's why we are in different parties. But we all share the same goal, to rid Hungary of Orban and restore democracy and freedom," Gyurcsany told AFP.