Hungary's Far-Right Leader Continues A Power Grab During The Pandemic
Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban gained sweeping powers last week when the country’s parliament passed emergency coronavirus measures that allow him to effectively rule by decree, suspend by-elections and grant authorities the ability to jail people for spreading disinformation. There is no time limit on when these new powers end.
Just a week later, rights groups say Orban has already begun using these new powers to assert control. As countries implement extraordinary measures to stem the spread of coronavirus, Hungary and other governments have used the moment to their political advantage ― bringing concern over how the rule of law can survive a pandemic.
The measures passed last week, when Orban’s Fidesz party pushed them through parliament, caused immediate backlash from rights groups, European Union officials and journalists who warned that the government would use its new abilities to consolidate power and further erode Hungary’s flagging democracy. Some critics demanded action from the EU and alleged that Orban had pushed the country into autocratic rule.
“Viktor Orban has completed his project of killing democracy and the rule of law in Hungary,” said Sophie In’t Veld, a Dutch liberal member of European Parliament involved in monitoring rule of law.
Orban, a canny politician adept at subtly rewriting laws and passing legislation that benefits his party, hasn’t yet used the measures to bluntly attack enemies or assert absolute rule. But many of his decrees have little to do with fighting coronavirus and more to do with shoring up his party’s rule and undermining political opponents.
The government has so far introduced plans to classify the details of a multibillion dollar railway project with China and will take away half of the state funding given to political parties ― a move that critics say will seriously harm many opposition groups that rely on the money to operate. Another plan, cooked up by...
