Authoritarian regime takes shape in Hungary
The silence on the part of other EU states on this development speaks volumes. All European governments are in the process of shifting the burden of the international economic crisis onto the broad mass of the population via drastic austerity measures. This cannot be carried out by democratic methods.
Hungary’s right-wing government led by Victor Orban has used its 15 months in office to systematically establish an authoritarian regime. It has curtailed the powers of the judiciary, imposed limits on press freedom, purged the media and state apparatus of critical voices and introduced a constitution reminiscent of the dictatorship of Regent Miklos Horthy.
At the same time, it has undertaken broad measures against the social and democratic rights of working people. The regime has introduced compulsory labour for the unemployed, slashed pensions, reduced social spending and laid off thousands of public service employees.
In particular, the Orban government has tightened up its authoritarian measures following the end of the Hungarian presidency of the European Union in June. Initially, some sporadic criticism of Orban’s measures was raised inside the European Union; now there is little to be heard. There has also been no protest from the ranks of the European People’s Party, which includes alongside members of Orban’s Civic Union (Fidesz), the German conservative CDU and CSU, and the French ruling UMP party.
Together with its small coalition partner, the national conservative Christian Democrats, Fidesz has a two-thirds majority in the Hungarian Parliament. Fidesz has used its majority to change the constitution and adopt measures that can only be reversed by a two-thirds majority. Having announced his intention to “reconstruct the whole country” at the beginning of his term, Orban has considerably expanded the powers of his government with such laws.
The Constitutional Court, for example, has suffered an extensive reduction of its powers. The country’s highest judges are no longer able to rule on whether new budget, tax and welfare laws are consistent with current law.