It is clear that governments around the world have struggled to respond to the coronavirus. For most, they have closed borders, restricted movements and gatherings, put limits on businesses as well as a host of other measures. This curtailment of fundamental liberties has generally received widespread support as short-term measures put in place for the sake of public health because such an approach has proved effective.
Although opposition to the scaling back of liberties remains largely misguided, there does persist cause for concern in some countries. The most troubling example of which is currently taking place in Hungary, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán solidifies his hold on power, leading to the end of any resemblance of democracy in the country.
Background
The collapse of democracy within Hungary was not brought about through one foul swoop but rather the end of a 10-year assault on democracy. The emergence of the coronavirus has merely played right into the hands of Viktor Orbán. Since the ascendancy of the Fidesz party in the 2010 elections, Orbán has become empowered to fundamentally upend Hungary. Equipped with a two-thirds parliamentary majority, Orbán quickly went to work creating a new Constitution referred to as the Fundamental Law of Hungary.
Among the first targets of the new Constitution was the independence of the Hungarian judiciary system. The retirement age for judges was reduced from 70 to 62 years, resulting in the retirement of 274 judges. The effect of which was a gaping hole in the judiciary, opening the doors for the Orbán government to appoint party loyalists and judges sympathetic to their views. This was paired with an expansion of the Constitutional Court of Hungary, which considers the constitutional validity of laws, from 11 justices to a bench of 15. While several Courts including the Constitutional Court sought to declare the forced retirement of judges as retrospectively invalid, few of the 274 would find their way back to the bench.
This outright attack on key democratic institutions had only just begun. Freedom of the media was stifled as public media outlets were consolidated under the one umbrella, overseen by the Media Council, a body comprised of officials appointed by the Fidesz controlled Parliament. Few critical private media outlets remain, with up to 90% of the media in Hungary controlled by Fidesz. Further to this, the electoral system was transformed to ensure Fidesz would always have a leg up. These reforms included the gerrymandering of electoral districts into a map far more favourable to Fidesz, as well as a reduction of seats in the Parliament from 386 to 199.
Orban’s Response to COVID-19
On the 30th of March the Hungarian Parliament voted overwhelmingly to grant Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the power to rule by decree on any subject indefinitely. As a result, Orbán can freely suspend existing laws or enact new ones on a whim. Previously, the Hungarian Constitution would provide for two checks on a Prime Minister during a state of emergency. However, this has been degraded as Parliament functions as a rubber stamp and continues to degrade its oversight capabilities.
Hungary’s judiciary has also failed to escape unscathed yet again. Although the Constitutional Court is required to stay operational during a state of emergency, there are few ways to actually reach the Court. Trial courts were suspended altogether for the past month, meaning no appeals could be lodged to the Constitutional Court. This is coupled by only select actors controlled by the government being able to bring an action to the Court.
Outside of the traditional governmental institutions, the publication of specific information has been criminalized. That is, spreading a falsehood or distorted truth that may obstruct the government’s coronavirus response, or is capable of alarming or agitating the general public, can land someone behind bars.
This is not the first time Orbán has sought to take advantage of a dominant concern such as the coronavirus to permanently strengthen his hold on power. Rather, the current approach to the coronavirus mirrors Orbán’s exploitation of the 2015 refugee crisis. In September of 2015, the Fidesz controlled Parliament declared a state of emergency due to mass migration, it remains in effect to this very day after being extended 8 times. Under the state of emergency, the border with Serbia was militarized, non-governmental organisations seeking to protect human rights were attacked, and the private Central European University was driven out of Budapest. For Orbán, the coronavirus just like the refugee crisis of 2015 is not a threat, but an opportunity.
Despite all of this, some commentators have been just as quick to issue their support for the Orbán government’s approach to the coronavirus maintaining that that Orbán is simply following in the footsteps of other states and their responses to the coronavirus. It is true that other states have taken extraordinary measures in curtailing fundamental liberties. The United Kingdom, France, Germany and about every other country in the world have all done so. However, this is not about attacking yet another “democratically elected conservative” government for the sake of it, as others have sought to conclude. Hungary’s response must be considered within the backdrop of a decade long assault on its democratic institutions and norms. In doing so, it paints a far more alarming picture about the future of Hungary post coronavirus. To turn a blind eye to this would be manifestly wrong.
One must also remember that although the Hungarian government continues to act consistently with restraints imposed by the Constitution, Orbán and the Fidesz party wrote and ratisfied the Constitution themselves after securing a two-thirds parliamentary majority at the 2010 elections. This is coupled with the lack of independence of the judicial function through the Constitutional Court to show a general degradation of the institution of democracy in Hungary.
Sceptics may point towards the widespread support for the measures put in place amongst Hungarian citizens. That alone cannot render the government immune from outside criticism. Many leaders across the world have received significant popularity jumps, and as history has repeatedly shown, it is all too easy to manufacture public support for otherwise undesirable causes.
The Road Ahead:
Since the ascendency of Orbán in 2010, the European Union (EU) has largely watched on as Hungary consistently abandoned and undermined the union’s core values. Although the EU is incapable of showing one of its members the door, it can launch Article 7 proceedings that among other things, suspends a member state’s voting rights. This involves a determination that a member state has breached fundamental EU values such as democracy and the rule of law. However, as this requires unanimity between all member states, such a manoeuvre is all but destined to fail. Not only is it politically undesirable for some member states to pursue, but Poland which has been threatened with similar proceedings over the past few years can effectively veto it. As a result, aside from some occasional stern language, the EU will continue to watch on as Hungary engages in democratic backsliding.
With no sunset clause, and an overall unwillingness from Orbán to cede any powers, it all but appears that Orbán and the Fidesz party have succeeded in their systematic destruction of democratic institutions and norms in Hungary. Situated along the bank of the Danube River, the Hungarian Parliament building is a must see for any visitor to Budapest. However, it is not a beacon of a promising democracy that emerged following the end of the Cold War, but a stark reminder of what could have been.
