The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán has increasingly gathered significant attention over recent years due to various actions which have led his government to become known as an “illiberal democracy”, however, he now favours the term “system of national co-operation”. Many political commentators have now declared that democracy no longer exists within Hungary and it is now ranked as a ‘flawed democracy’ by the Global Democracy index but what exactly has Orbán done in order to ‘achieve’ this grapple on power?

The ruling party, ‘Fidesz’ has been the culprit of substantial democratic backsliding within Hungary through penetrating the government so deeply that it is now effectively a one-party state. This extensive governmental control lying at the fingertips of Orbán has been exercised to further consolidate and secure his position as Hungary’s de facto ‘Supreme Leader’. Fidesz party members and connections are financially ‘taken good care of’, opposition media and parties are hit with fiscal investigations and state funds have been used to drive Fidesz propaganda.

Even more alarmingly, Orbán has used Fidesz’s governmental power to push through laws that seriously threaten the independence of the judicial system, one of the most fundamental components in a functioning democracy. These laws had the effect of establishing a new administrative court system to handle all issues concerning basic human rights. The problem with this law is that it delegates excessive powers to Fidesz’s Justice minister who will be free to appoint judges and decide on the promotion process within the courts. The result is a court that has been dreamy, hand-picked by Fidesz in order to ensure the influence of their motives and agendas within the court system, consequently witnessing a colossal blow to Hungary’s democratic integrity and making the term “illiberal democracy” seem a rather generous label.

With Hungary being a member of the professed ‘pro-democratic’ European Union, why are EU politicians just sitting back and watching Hungary’s democracy being demolished? The key reason for the EU’s diplomatic hesitation is the political consequences they fear they would suffer if they were to intervene. Fidesz is a large vote-contributor to the European People’s Party (EPP) composed of key European leaders such a Merkel who may fear that any attempt to divorce or distance themselves from the regime would hurt the party’s European influence.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Orbán’s attack on democracy has troublingly been ramped up to another level. On the 30th of March, Fidesz passed their “Protecting Against the Coronavirus” Law through the Hungarian Parliament which acted to effectively allow Orbán to bypass Parliament and rule by decree until he deems the emergency to be over. This legislation has also banned elections and granted the police with the power to issue prison sentences of up to 8 years for those who are deemed to have violated the quarantine or have spread “false information”. It seems that the COVID-19 crisis was precisely the gift Orbán has been dreaming of; offering him a marvelous excuse to rapidly accelerate his authoritarian agenda.

It now seems Orbán’s radical right-wing, populist regime may no longer be a mere threat to democracy but more disturbingly, a symbol that democracy has been suspended within Hungary. Despite the current COVID-19 crisis and the political cost, it may incur, it seems that now is a time that EU politicians must come together to denounce this anti-democratic regime before Orbán and Fidesz can find another excuse to “protect” their sovereignty through further democratic erosion.

by Oliver Watt

Democracy Diaries: Hungary