Politics by Candlelight (Budapest Rally)

On Saturday, 21st January, I attended my first political rally in Budapest.

I was quite surprised by the turnout, given the cold weather. The rally had begun in the afternoon at Heroes Square (the Trafalgar Square of Budapest) and made its way across the city to gather in front of the parliament.

That's where I joined it, and waited with the crowd for something to happen. But it took another hour and a half for thousands to reach the square from their long walk.

Candles enclosed in small hand-held lanterns are popular here as a sign of loyalty, or perhaps of remembrance. Plenty of large national flags were in evidence, plus tall placards bearing pointed political statements. In particular, I noted "1956 - The Tanks : 2012 - The Banks" and "Hands off Hungary".

Once the whole square, and beyond, seemed filled to capacity, some encouraging speech-making began. I've no idea idea what was being said, of course. But it seemed to hit the right note, with frequent roars of approval and applause rising from the audience.

After some thirty minutes of crowd-bonding political statements, the rally obediently fell into a clearly meaningful and patriotic hymnal song, signified by the removal of hats by gentlemen (including myself) and its slow pace.

As I now know the meaning of the (very beautiful) national anthem, I have no doubt this hymn was an equally poignant lament over Hungary's troubled past with a commitment not to forget but build on other's sacrifices.

The communal singing marked the end of the event, which from the organisers' point of view must have been deemed quite a success, given the present political environment.

Oh... did I mention this was a pro-government rally, in support of Viktor Orban's governing Fidesz party?

Outside election time, a pro-government rally in the UK would be unlikely. We're too dismissive of our politicians to give them more encouragement than they need. But here in Hungary, the legacy of the past remains a significant and polarising issue.

Patriotism and anti-communism is what unites those giving the government their support (despite the prime minister's evident international 'difficulties'). In contrast, the present socialist opposition remains significantly tainted by corruption and its communist party roots.

On the way home, I was asked for directions by a pleasant elderly gentleman. I wasn't much help, but between our languages I gathered that to be at the rally he'd travelled all the way from Debrecen (120 miles). Political rallying is much the same in most countries – as long as the freedom of democracy remains.

Though I can't understand too much of the political detail, it felt good simply to be sharing Hungarian values among so many Hungarians.