Máté Kocsis, Mayor of Budapest’s 8th District and the ruling Fidesz party’s president in the Hungarian capital, launched another homophobic tirade, after a court ruled that a liberal politician’s suggestion that the Fidesz politician was gay did not qualify as defamation. In 2015, we covered the conflict between Klára Ungár and Máté Kocsis, and the Fidesz mayor’s hysterical reaction to suggestions surrounding his sexuality. The initial verdict of the Budapest Court was to side with Mr. Kocsis in determining that being labelled a homosexual was tantamount to the defamation of good character. On appeal, however, the verdict was overturned, with the judge noting that Mr. Kocsis failed to explain why being considered gay is in any way defamatory, nor could be prove that this claim caused him any harm.
A day after the verdict, Mr. Kocsis reacted by referring to Ms. Ungár, a lesbian, as “Uncle Klári” and by issuing the following statement:
“Looking at the reactions to yesterday’s decision, the lying Uncle Klári caused damage to her own small, but loud world. Despite their efforts to claim otherwise, what they represent is anything but trendy. And Uncle Klári has let the genie out of the bottle. And anyone who does not understand why it is insulting for a father to be accused of homosexuality in public should read this article. Long live hetero pride!”
The article that Mr. Kocsis referred to appeared in the pro-Fidesz Magyar Idők daily, with the author writing:
“It is insulting for a man to be called a homosexual. A man, who is naturally attracted to women, establishes a family and raises children, has good reason to be proud of himself. As such, he can rightfully find it hurtful, if someone questions his values or if someone accuses him of having a sexually deviant lifestyle.”
Máté Kocsis
Mr. Kocsis’s most recent tirade once again appeared on Facebook, and some people commenting underneath his post suggested that he would be best to drop the subject and just move on. This, however, seems unlikely. Mr. Kocsis also replaced his Facebook profile photo with one depicting his young son, and added in a comment: “I am proudest of my little boy.”
He also added that he intends to take his appeal to the Superior Court, noting: “Starting from now, it is acceptable to label any heterosexual a fag, but I guess that the same isn’t possible in the case of homosexuals.”
If anyone still needs a reminder that Fidesz is just as prejudiced as Jobbik, look no further than the party’s Budapest president.
