Co-founder and executive board member of the progressive Hungarian party Momentum, Katalin Cseh, has announced that she is joining the recently established Hungarian Humanists’ Party (MHP; Humanists). The party, which has chosen pink as its colour, aims to bring ‘more humanity and less testosterone’ into Hungarian politics.
Cseh made the announcement in a video posted on Facebook, where she spoke with Richárd Barabás, former member of the Dialogue (Párbeszéd) party and founder of MHP. In the recording, Barabás stated that ‘the next parliament would be better if it had a few more rainbow and EU flags, a little more acceptance and less exclusion.’ Cseh added: ‘We don’t need a new enemy, but a new voice. Not a new leader, but a new community. That’s why I’m starting a new project now, with people who believe in a freer, more European, and more humane Hungary.’
Cseh made headlines through her work in the European Parliament, where she served as vice president of the liberal-progressive Renew group. The Hungarian MEP devoted considerable effort to undermining Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government and pressuring the European Commission to withhold EU funds that were rightfully due to Hungary. Cseh contributed to the creation of the EU’s rule-of-law conditionality mechanism, under which Brussels has kept some EUR 10 billion frozen to this day.
Katalin Cseh and other Momentum MEPs also repeatedly voted against Hungarian participation in the Erasmus+ programme, thereby depriving thousands of Hungarian students of the opportunity to study abroad in other EU member states. The governing Fidesz party described Cseh’s actions as ‘shameful’ and ‘treasonous’.
Momentum was among the first parties to announce that it would not participate in the upcoming Hungarian parliamentary election, as the party’s leadership believes a change in government is more likely if they support opposition leader Péter Magyar and his TISZA party.
‘We are disappointed in her, because even though the path Momentum has chosen involves painful sacrifices, we believe it is the right direction,’ the party said in a statement reacting to her decision. Momentum, however, is already on the brink of political extinction, with national support hovering around 1–2 per cent.
There remains significant debate among opposition parties over whether to run independently in 2026 or rally behind TISZA. Richárd Barabás had earlier declared that Dialogue would run on its own, arguing that there is ‘a need for a political force that represents values more clearly.’ On 10 November, however, he announced that he would run under the MHP banner, pledging to be ‘the voice of free, European, urban, and progressive people.’ The MHP has been officially registered since 16 June 2025, with its president being former Dialogue politician Károly Ferenc Deschelák.
The party’s declaration, published on its official website, reads as follows:
Hungary is preparing for a regime change.
We can leave behind an exclusionary, violent, and condescending style of governance.
But regime change cannot be only about rejection. There are many of us in this country who want a humane, free, and European Hungary.
More EU and Pride flags. More love, less machismo and hatred.
The Humanists were founded to represent these values.
We cannot wait until the elections to decide what kind of country we want to build after defeating Fidesz.
Join the Humanists—before and after the change!
Related articles:
