The Hungarian Prime Minister, Peter Magyar, has used this Friday the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution against the former Soviet Union to emphasize the complete recovery of ties with the European Union, after years of friction under the mandate of his predecessor and close ally of the Kremlin, Viktor Orbán.
"Hungary can no longer be a drifting ferry between the west and the east," Magyar proclaimed before Parliament, in Budapest, along the Danube. "In 1956, Hungarians gave a clear response: we belong to a free and democratic Europe. We want to be reliable allies," he assured.
The uprising, triggered by university students in Budapest on October 23, 1956, lasted just 13 days before being crushed by the intervention of thousands of tanks and soldiers sent by Moscow, an offensive that left thousands dead.
Orbán's Fidesz party, defeated at the polls, has decided to absent itself from the commemorative event, claiming that President Andras Baka, who intervened in the ceremony, was appointed illegitimately, and has organized its own tribute in parallel.
To stage the thaw with Brussels, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, attended the event. "Six months ago, Hungary voted for a new chapter," she posted on social media, in a message accompanied by the night of the electoral celebration of Magyar's party, when "the people danced to celebrate a revived democracy in Hungary."