Hungary’s Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar has criticized Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony over the timing of a public concert planned for 8 May, arguing that it clashes with a national event linked to the formation of the new parliament.
Karácsony announced earlier on Sunday that a ‘closing-era celebration concert’ would take place at 6:30pm on the Pest embankment, near the foot of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. The event is intended to mark what he described as the symbolic end of a political period ahead of the new parliament’s inaugural session on 9 May.
In a video message, the mayor said that while a new era is beginning, the previous one must be consciously closed, not through forgetting, but through remembrance. He referred to what he sees as the negative experiences of the past decade and a half, including dismissed teachers, targeted civil groups, and journalists who lost their jobs.
Karácsony framed the concert as an opportunity to collectively reflect, express gratitude, and symbolically bid farewell to that period. He encouraged the public to attend the event at the Chain Bridge.
Magyar responded critically in comments on social media, questioning whether it was appropriate for the mayor to organize a large public event just one day before what he called a ‘national system-change celebration’ tied to the parliament’s formation.
He described the move as ‘harmful and discourteous’, particularly given the proximity in both time and location to the official event. Magyar also raised the issue of funding, asking whether the financially strained capital city would be covering the cost of the concert.
The exchange highlights emerging political tensions over how the transition period following the elections is publicly marked, as well as differing interpretations of its symbolic significance.
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