Thousands Of Hungarians Protest For Democracy In Prime Minister Orbán's Government

Protesters flooded the streets of downtown Budapest Friday in a demonstration against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Activists said Orbán was not representing public interests in his policies, the Associated Press reported, including his efforts to tax the Internet.

"We feel that democracy has suffered a very serious blow," teacher Zsuzsa Veress told Reuters.

Hungarians have criticized Orbán, also president of conservative party Fidesz, for what they see as governmental corruption. Fidesz holds a two-thirds majority in parliament, which in 2013 allowed Orbán to pass a new constitution that centralized power. Under this system -- and despite protests -- he appointed people to lead the court system, the bank and the media, Bloomberg reported.

“We must offer an alternative to the current system,” former lawmaker Gabor Vago told the crowd. Orbán was re-elected this past spring. Poll numbers show Fidesz has the support of about a quarter of Hungarians -- more than the opposition Jobbik or Socialist parties, which register 14 percent and 11 percent of public support respectively.

Vago was one of thousands at Friday's rally, which was organized by the MostMi! group. Protesters waved red socialist flags as well as European Union banners in an effort to wake up Orbán for going "far away from reality," activist Zsolt Varady said in a speech. Some even referred to Orbán as Russian President Vladimir Putin's "little brother."

Entrepreneur Mire Gyongyosi told Reuters one solution could be found in civic groups. If organizations like MostMi! mobilized, they could "get into parliament independently from the other parties, and then we would have people there whom the country accepts because they are not yet tainted and have not sullied themselves in the past decades," he said.

The next rally is scheduled for Feb. 1. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to visit Budapest the day after.

See Twitter photos from Friday's protests below.