Abstract
Index’s
THE RULING FIDESZ government in Hungary is typically quick to remove any form of antigovernment graffiti. However with the growing opposition to Orbán’s rule and as the populace becomes uneasy in the lead-up to the April elections, it was impossible for everything to be scrubbed. Budapest’s streets have been lined with multi-million dollar publicly funded propaganda this year, be it a warped image of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hand outstretched asking for money, or opposition leader Péter Magyar submitting to the whims of President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Budapest is a major political battleground, led by anti-Fidesz Mayor Gergely Karácsony, who was recently fined for defying the government’s ban on Pride marches. The city receives less funding and is taxed more harshly than towns and cities that support Viktor Orbán. Whilst the capital is firmly pushing against the reigning government, the real support for Orbán comes from the rural areas, small towns in which all media is government-aligned (See Print your own news, p68). A piece of graffiti one might see when walking the streets of any Hungarian town or city would be “O1G”, a crude insider joke roughly translating to “Orbán is a cunt”. It can sometimes be seen stylised into a symbol, with the G and 1 combined within the O. Some 10 forint coins have been subtly altered with a G stamped inside the zero to spread this message. Getting lost among the vibrant tags and street art that cover Budapest’s back streets it becomes a subtle if-you-know-you-know protest against the government. Then, more common and far more blatantly scrawled on walls, doors, signs and more is the short and straightforward “Fuck Orbán”, or else “Mocskos Fidesz” which translates to the phrase “Filthy Fidesz”. One cannot walk more than 20 feet through the city’s back streets before being surrounded by political graffiti, political posters torn apart from walls, revealing layers of propaganda that came before. Even imported symbols of the American culture-war emerge with stickers in support of Donald Trump plastered in dark corners, often crossed out in black marker. What emerges from these displays is an act of political conversation, even within the graffiti itself expressing differing views and opinions. While the government commands space on billboards, television, radio and print media, the individual on the street is making use of whatever space they can to make their voice heard. Political dissent is everywhere, you just have to look for it in the back alleys, on lamp-posts, on coins and in doorways. ✗
A publicly funded anti-Ukraine anti-EU poster depicting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy asking European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European parliament president Manfred Weber for money, with the slogan: “We won’t pay”. The graffiti sprayed over the bottom of the poster reads: “Propaganda, 3 months, 30 billion” pointing out the billions of Hungarian forints spent on this Fidesz propaganda
THIS PAGE: (clockwise from top) Residents go about their day paying little attention to anti-government graffiti sprayed across the city. / Not all of the graffiti is as subtle or hidden, here a wall is scrawled with the words “Fuck Orbán”, whilst a left-turn only street sign has been covered with the text: “Yes, turn left, and not right like Orbán!!” / The O1G symbol hidden behind binbags. This anti-Orbán symbol is typically scrubbed within days of appearing. / The text “Free all antifas” and “Ironic this is the statue of freedom” scrawled at the base of Budapest’s statue of liberty, currently closed for renovations. / “Mocskos Fidesz”, translated as “Filthy Fidesz” written on a lamp-post looking over the Hungarian parliament
