On a national holiday that commemorates the 1956 uprising Hungarians staged against Russian rule, more than 100,000 people are believed to have taken part in political demonstrations for and against the controversial prime minister Viktor Orban. Along with a large crowd that came out to support Orban, a potential rival has emerged in the figure of former prime minister Gordon Bajnai. Bajnai led a well-respected provisional government of technocrats from 2009 to 2010, and is credited with helping stabilize a foundering economy. He said he’d never considered himself a true politician, but that circumstances were pushing him into the role.
