The China Mail - Trump helps enflame anti-LGBTQ feeling from Hungary to Romania

But with US President Donald Trump's anti-LGBTQ push emboldening similar efforts in Europe, she now worries for them even more, wondering if "the genie has been let out of the bottle".

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- a "good friend" of Trump -- has gradually been rolling back LGBTQ rights in the name of "child protection" in Hungary for years.

But he conceded that a recently adopted bill aimed at banning Budapest's annual Pride march was made possible only after Trump's return to the White House.

"We were not strong enough before to face a hurricane" of protests, but "the world has changed and different winds are blowing in Washington," he said last month.

Thousand of protesters have taken to the streets every week since parliament passed the bill, which drew criticism from the European Union and the UN. It was reinforced by a constitutional amendment last week.

- 'Uninhibited hatred' -

"We have to admit that Donald Trump is at the pinnacle of world power, and unfortunately, what he says is followed by many people," said Bogadi.

Raised in a conservative, rural environment, the manager's life changed completely when her two children came out.

"We had to leave our village to move to the capital, which offered us a bit of anonymity and peace," the 47-year-old told AFP in Budapest.

But the move didn't fix all the problems, particularly those her transgender son faces on a daily basis.

Bogadi said her son has to "present himself as someone he is not -- whether at the bank, the post office or when taking an exam".

Once the Pride ban bill passed, her son said he would leave Hungary for Germany, which was "heartbreaking" for her, said Bogadi, who has become a spokesperson for LGBTQ families in Hungary.

Computer programmer Nikolett Bernadett Hollosy, who is also transgender, said she "doesn't want to leave" the country she loves, although a "creeping dictatorship" was taking hold in Hungary.

The 33-year-old argued that an emboldened far right has joined forces to "persecute" LGBTQ minorities while "the world looks the other way".

Vladimir Putin's Russia -- with which Orban has warm ties -- has also been cracking down hard on gay and transgender communities.

Gay journalist Adam Andras Kanicsar said he is "terrified" by the "uninhibited hatred" that has been unleashed in the world as fundamental changes are underway.

"An extremely toxic club of real men with a capital M" are out to "crush everything in their path", he said.

"All of this has been going on for a long time, but with Trump, it has become more vocal," he warned.

He will nonetheless take part in Budapest's Pride march scheduled for 28 June, with organisers vowing to go ahead with the event despite the law banning it.

- 'America dictates the tone' -

In neighbouring Romania, Florian-Mihail Paun, who coordinates the annual Pride parade, fears that the hostile climate might derail the march scheduled for June 7.

Since Trump's White House return, the Accept group he works for has received dozens of reports from people who say they are facing physical or verbal violence and online threats, with some sponsors now reluctant to support the march.

"The anti-LGBT discourse hit me really hard. America -- like it or not -- dictates the tone," said the 23-year-old transgender man. He has recently pushed ahead with his transition process for fear of missing his chance.

Romania's far right has secured several electoral successes in the wake of Trump's victory and now hopes to win the first round of the presidential election in May.

As one of the last countries in the EU where same sex marriages and civil partnerships are still outlawed, and where the powerful Orthodox Church wields its influence, defending "traditional, Christian values" against a "decadent West" has appeal for voters.

Even Social Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu recently said that "woke" identity cards would not be introduced in Romania, boasting that the new IDs only feature "female or male" sexes.

Romania has also not signed a recent declaration by several European embassies in Budapest in support of the city's Pride march.

According to former Accept president Florin Buhuceanu, it is the first time that the LGBTQ community has been "at the centre of such intense and polarised debates".

Standing as a candidate in the December parliamentary elections, he was not elected, while far-right parties took an unprecedented third of the ballots.

"Some are starting to be afraid to take to the streets" to defend their rights, he said, adding that the situation "is serious" and it might "just be the beginning".

- Russian model -

In Slovakia, the LGBTQ community was hoping for more support after two men were murdered by the son of a prominent member of an extreme-right party in front of a Bratislava gay bar in 2022.

"We thought that even the most critical would come to their senses and be more sensitive to our cause," said Robert Pakan, director of the Drama Queer festival.

But the climate has worsened since the homophobic double murder, with Prime Minister Robert Fico back in power intensifying his anti-LGBTQ attacks, freezing funds to NGOs and halting procedures for transgender people.

Admitting that he drew inspiration from Trump, Fico also proposed a constitutional amendment that "recognises only two sexes -- male and female" and allows for changes only "for serious reasons".

"They're brandishing fears, enemies and threats that do not exist," Pakan lamented.

For Roman Samotny, who owns the now-shuttered Teplaren bar where the double murder took place, anti-LGBTQ propaganda has mainly taken inspiration from Russia, just like in Hungary, with Fico and Orban both close to Putin.

"We noticed a clear intensification in 2013 after Moscow passed a law" restricting LGBTQ rights, he said. In the wake of the legislation, a referendum designed to block marriage for all was organised.

It was invalidated due to insufficient turnout, but a large part of society for the first time openly took a stand against LGBTQ rights.

A month ago, a 12-year-old boy threw himself in front of a train in the city of Kosice after being harassed because of his sexual orientation. For many Slovaks, the tragedy is indicative of the hatred that now pervades society.

H.Ng--ThChM