museum director fired for non-enforcement of anti-LGBT+ law

A homophobic law in action. The Hungarian government fired the director of the National Museum of Hungary on Monday, November 6. Laszlo Simon “lack” its duty to apply the law prohibiting minors’ access to an exhibition offering content evoking homosexuality. This rule, adopted in 2021 by the populist government of Viktor Orban despite the indignation of associations and the opposition, prohibits any mention of LGBT+ to minors in public.

Until Sunday, the museum presented the photos awarded in 2023 by the World Press Photo, which rewards each year “the best visual journalism” in the world. But the far-right Our Homeland party denounced this exhibition, because it showed without restrictions photos of an LGBT+ community in the Philippines.

EU proceedings against Hungary

The Hungarian Ministry of Culture therefore ordered the museum to prevent children from entering the exhibition rooms. But the institute declared to AFP on Wednesday that it could not control identity documents and relied on the “cooperation” visitors.

The director of the National Museum is a former deputy from the Prime Minister’s Fidesz party Viktor Orban. As such, he voted for this law opposed by NGOs, which the European Union intends to cancel through an infringement procedure still in progress.