Zürcher Nachrichten - Trump helps enflame anti-LGBTQ feeling from Hungary to Romania

EUR -
AED 4.167398
AFN 78.946657
ALL 98.433364
AMD 435.679036
ANG 2.030853
AOA 1041.137332
ARS 1340.96416
AUD 1.764513
AWG 2.043983
AZN 1.926018
BAM 1.958135
BBD 2.286813
BDT 138.584042
BGN 1.955333
BHD 0.425828
BIF 3371.230219
BMD 1.134758
BND 1.461953
BOB 7.836207
BRL 6.501707
BSD 1.132609
BTN 96.947615
BWP 15.212429
BYN 3.706474
BYR 22241.260943
BZD 2.275015
CAD 1.559328
CDF 3251.082691
CHF 0.931926
CLF 0.02763
CLP 1060.280799
CNY 8.175142
CNH 8.177271
COP 4714.920368
CRC 575.40275
CUC 1.134758
CUP 30.071093
CVE 110.396649
CZK 24.930545
DJF 201.685913
DKK 7.459678
DOP 66.8587
DZD 149.326762
EGP 56.2105
ERN 17.021373
ETB 151.556585
FJD 2.565689
FKP 0.843205
GBP 0.842152
GEL 3.10954
GGP 0.843205
GHS 11.624658
GIP 0.843205
GMD 81.702207
GNF 9813.34142
GTQ 8.71031
GYD 237.287606
HKD 8.897468
HNL 29.509013
HRK 7.534231
HTG 148.114967
HUF 403.769641
IDR 18574.516735
ILS 3.993152
IMP 0.843205
INR 97.09882
IQD 1485.671679
IRR 47801.689404
ISK 144.398464
JEP 0.843205
JMD 180.539487
JOD 0.804539
JPY 163.456244
KES 146.601804
KGS 99.234437
KHR 4536.233319
KMF 493.054618
KPW 1021.28239
KRW 1569.348035
KWD 0.348223
KYD 0.945119
KZT 579.836351
LAK 24471.863943
LBP 101478.348865
LKR 339.662057
LRD 226.511717
LSL 20.282172
LTL 3.350646
LVL 0.686404
LYD 6.203951
MAD 10.486221
MDL 19.649679
MGA 5179.124662
MKD 61.519211
MMK 2382.610329
MNT 4056.084845
MOP 9.161945
MRU 44.769433
MUR 51.92685
MVR 17.543025
MWK 1963.868081
MXN 22.047936
MYR 4.830102
MZN 72.521955
NAD 20.30982
NGN 1802.291416
NIO 41.682955
NOK 11.594953
NPR 155.115783
NZD 1.901883
OMR 0.434347
PAB 1.134132
PEN 4.108163
PGK 4.650214
PHP 63.28597
PKR 319.300134
PLN 4.251082
PYG 9049.470524
QAR 4.133994
RON 5.054664
RSD 117.725495
RUB 87.581498
RWF 1601.82927
SAR 4.257034
SBD 9.476102
SCR 16.101879
SDG 681.431807
SEK 10.883916
SGD 1.465424
SHP 0.891742
SLE 25.781964
SLL 23795.312556
SOS 647.2906
SRD 42.233995
STD 23487.203908
SVC 9.923747
SYP 14753.955772
SZL 20.275573
THB 37.217478
TJS 11.342075
TMT 3.977328
TND 3.390543
TOP 2.657718
TRY 44.461867
TTD 7.701116
TWD 33.948578
TZS 3055.083652
UAH 47.047448
UGX 4122.880246
USD 1.134758
UYU 47.228193
UZS 14480.842814
VES 107.627873
VND 29528.110798
VUV 136.50206
WST 3.139886
XAF 655.846154
XAG 0.034398
XAU 0.000345
XCD 3.066741
XDR 0.815662
XOF 655.846154
XPF 119.331742
YER 276.711065
ZAR 20.418323
ZMK 10214.188939
ZMW 30.154903
ZWL 365.391681
  • RBGPF

    -0.2380

    65.43

    -0.36%

  • CMSC

    0.1300

    22.22

    +0.59%

  • SCS

    -0.0500

    10.31

    -0.48%

  • NGG

    0.8745

    71.39

    +1.22%

  • AZN

    1.9600

    72.83

    +2.69%

  • RELX

    -0.0100

    53.92

    -0.02%

  • GSK

    1.0300

    41.03

    +2.51%

  • CMSD

    0.1100

    22.22

    +0.5%

  • RIO

    -0.7700

    59.43

    -1.3%

  • BTI

    0.2300

    45.2

    +0.51%

  • BCE

    0.3000

    21.8

    +1.38%

  • JRI

    0.1600

    12.94

    +1.24%

  • BCC

    -0.9700

    86.88

    -1.12%

  • RYCEF

    0.0700

    11.65

    +0.6%

  • VOD

    0.0000

    10.34

    0%

  • BP

    -0.0700

    29.1

    -0.24%

Trump helps enflame anti-LGBTQ feeling from Hungary to Romania
Trump helps enflame anti-LGBTQ feeling from Hungary to Romania / Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK - AFP

Trump helps enflame anti-LGBTQ feeling from Hungary to Romania

Hungarian Nikoletta Bogadi's life was turned upside down when one of her four children came out as gay and another one as transgender.

Text size:

But with US President Donald Trump's anti-LGBTQ push emboldening similar efforts in Europe, she now worries for them even more, wondering if "the genie has been let out of the bottle".

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- a "good friend" of Trump -- has gradually been rolling back LGBTQ rights in the name of "child protection" in Hungary for years.

But he conceded that a recently adopted bill aimed at banning Budapest's annual Pride march was made possible only after Trump's return to the White House.

"We were not strong enough before to face a hurricane" of protests, but "the world has changed and different winds are blowing in Washington," he said last month.

Thousand of protesters have taken to the streets every week since parliament passed the bill, which drew criticism from the European Union and the UN. It was reinforced by a constitutional amendment last week.

- 'Uninhibited hatred' -

"We have to admit that Donald Trump is at the pinnacle of world power, and unfortunately, what he says is followed by many people," said Bogadi.

Raised in a conservative, rural environment, the manager's life changed completely when her two children came out.

"We had to leave our village to move to the capital, which offered us a bit of anonymity and peace," the 47-year-old told AFP in Budapest.

But the move didn't fix all the problems, particularly those her transgender son faces on a daily basis.

Bogadi said her son has to "present himself as someone he is not -- whether at the bank, the post office or when taking an exam".

Once the Pride ban bill passed, her son said he would leave Hungary for Germany, which was "heartbreaking" for her, said Bogadi, who has become a spokesperson for LGBTQ families in Hungary.

Computer programmer Nikolett Bernadett Hollosy, who is also transgender, said she "doesn't want to leave" the country she loves, although a "creeping dictatorship" was taking hold in Hungary.

The 33-year-old argued that an emboldened far right has joined forces to "persecute" LGBTQ minorities while "the world looks the other way".

Vladimir Putin's Russia -- with which Orban has warm ties -- has also been cracking down hard on gay and transgender communities.

Gay journalist Adam Andras Kanicsar said he is "terrified" by the "uninhibited hatred" that has been unleashed in the world as fundamental changes are underway.

"An extremely toxic club of real men with a capital M" are out to "crush everything in their path", he said.

"All of this has been going on for a long time, but with Trump, it has become more vocal," he warned.

He will nonetheless take part in Budapest's Pride march scheduled for 28 June, with organisers vowing to go ahead with the event despite the law banning it.

- 'America dictates the tone' -

In neighbouring Romania, Florian-Mihail Paun, who coordinates the annual Pride parade, fears that the hostile climate might derail the march scheduled for June 7.

Since Trump's White House return, the Accept group he works for has received dozens of reports from people who say they are facing physical or verbal violence and online threats, with some sponsors now reluctant to support the march.

"The anti-LGBT discourse hit me really hard. America -- like it or not -- dictates the tone," said the 23-year-old transgender man. He has recently pushed ahead with his transition process for fear of missing his chance.

Romania's far right has secured several electoral successes in the wake of Trump's victory and now hopes to win the first round of the presidential election in May.

As one of the last countries in the EU where same sex marriages and civil partnerships are still outlawed, and where the powerful Orthodox Church wields its influence, defending "traditional, Christian values" against a "decadent West" has appeal for voters.

Even Social Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu recently said that "woke" identity cards would not be introduced in Romania, boasting that the new IDs only feature "female or male" sexes.

Romania has also not signed a recent declaration by several European embassies in Budapest in support of the city's Pride march.

According to former Accept president Florin Buhuceanu, it is the first time that the LGBTQ community has been "at the centre of such intense and polarised debates".

Standing as a candidate in the December parliamentary elections, he was not elected, while far-right parties took an unprecedented third of the ballots.

"Some are starting to be afraid to take to the streets" to defend their rights, he said, adding that the situation "is serious" and it might "just be the beginning".

- Russian model -

In Slovakia, the LGBTQ community was hoping for more support after two men were murdered by the son of a prominent member of an extreme-right party in front of a Bratislava gay bar in 2022.

"We thought that even the most critical would come to their senses and be more sensitive to our cause," said Robert Pakan, director of the Drama Queer festival.

But the climate has worsened since the homophobic double murder, with Prime Minister Robert Fico back in power intensifying his anti-LGBTQ attacks, freezing funds to NGOs and halting procedures for transgender people.

Admitting that he drew inspiration from Trump, Fico also proposed a constitutional amendment that "recognises only two sexes -- male and female" and allows for changes only "for serious reasons".

"They're brandishing fears, enemies and threats that do not exist," Pakan lamented.

For Roman Samotny, who owns the now-shuttered Teplaren bar where the double murder took place, anti-LGBTQ propaganda has mainly taken inspiration from Russia, just like in Hungary, with Fico and Orban both close to Putin.

"We noticed a clear intensification in 2013 after Moscow passed a law" restricting LGBTQ rights, he said. In the wake of the legislation, a referendum designed to block marriage for all was organised.

It was invalidated due to insufficient turnout, but a large part of society for the first time openly took a stand against LGBTQ rights.

A month ago, a 12-year-old boy threw himself in front of a train in the city of Kosice after being harassed because of his sexual orientation. For many Slovaks, the tragedy is indicative of the hatred that now pervades society.

P.Gashi--NZN