Hungarian Coronavirus Act passes granting PM Orban unprecedented emergency power
index.hu
index.hu
"Demagogues usually advocate immediate, forceful action to address a crisis while accusing moderate and thoughtful opponents of weakness or disloyalty. Once elected to high executive office, demagogues typically unravel constitutional limits on executive power and attempt to convert their democracy to dictatorship."
It's hard not to see the similarities here.
"Anyone who, under a special legal order, in public, utters or spreads statements known to be false or statements distorting true facts shall be punishable by imprisonment between 1 to 5 years if done in a manner capable of hindering or derailing the effectiveness of the response effort."
Given that any opposing political speech could be viewed in this manner, it’s a frightening expansion of power.
The better solution is to just stop sending EU money to Orban (which he used to buy up all the media and gain this power) and send money to the cities and projects directly.
Another might see it as using the threat of outsiders/foreigners to consolidate power by the administration. Certainly controversial issues, but hardly ones that are obvious or settled.
There are manufactured fears that "millions of people will come to hungary from africa", that rich jews will set up a dictatorship in hungary, and that the EU will somehow impose itself over the parliament.
None of this has any foundation in reality.
Budapest is an amazing city to live in as long as you don't earn your money there.
The biggest problem for me though weren't his leadership decinsions, but the amount of corruption happening. Hungary lost many places in the Corruption Perceptions Index in the last 10 years, while its surrounding countries got much better.
On what grounds?
The EU structure greatly reminds me of the weak Articles of Confederation adopted after the American Revolution (to be abandoned after a few years for a stronger federal government with the Constitution). It just doesn't work to have all sovereignty vested in constituent members of a government.
One example - Czechoslovakia had at the end of the WWII more performant economy overall than Austria. After 40 years, I recall first trip there - it felt so surreal. The country was spot clean, maintained, highly developed, shops were full of quality wares we couldn't dream of (say bananas and oranges, meat looked so much more tasty and so on). We could barely afford going to the public toilet in the center.
I am sure it could be theoretically done better, but I can't imagine it done well back home.
It is much more sane to begin with the truth and to respect it. Only then, in light of the facts, can we begin to speak of the possibility of a workable cooperation between nations instead of trying to will arbitrary things into existence in some quixotic and destructive endeavor. All it does is conceal the injustices that occur under the veneer of "unity".
I think things are allowed to get worse until main EU members decide that it's worth risking breaking the EU to get all countries to play with normal rules again or get them thrown out.
Fidesz–KDNP has been eroding the laws and norms more than a decade and they have put their people into universities, media and courts. I don't see easy way back to normal any time soon.
The leading party in Poland, Law and Justice party, is right-wing populist, not far-right populist. They formed a coalition with far-right party that has moved little bit away from the far-right.
Right-wing populist parties also erode the laws and norms just as far-right. The willingness of Law and Justice party to move together with far-right for support when they need it is problematic.
The main difference in their foreign politics is Russia. Poland was so heavily inoculated against Russia during the WWII that you get nowhere if you go with Russia.
Both are eroding the rules and norms of their countries.
Nazi Germany was born from such:
Remember when after 9/11 it was absolutely necessary to curtail civil freedoms and invade countries, to "save lives" from terrorism? There are many politicians who won't miss another great opportunity to save lives.
Then, over time, he developed a nuanced view of international power dynamics, and preserving domestic support among key demographics. He set out to solve unemployment, but created a public works programme that arguably keeps rural areas reliant on him. He's pro-EU but skeptical of the multicultural norms western Europe appears to project, right until they too close their borders for migrants. He is eager to strike economic deals with China and Russia, which isn't too unusual for the region (cf. Austria, Slovakia, Serbia), but when he does it, it's understood by supporters and critics alike to be to spite EU leadership and the implied strategic interests of EU and the US.
He's also re-written the country's constitution, weakened the independent judiciary, passed a controversial media law, and cooked up a ridiculous propaganda campaign to demonize a rich philanthropist who supports a western social liberalism worldview instead. His critics see this as another opportunistic power grab; his supporters see it as a necessary step to tackle an unprecedented crisis. The truth may lie close to either extreme, or it may be somewhere in the middle, but he is a polarizing figure, so sources that present a balanced view are difficult to find.
A key part of this is preying on and amplifying racism and antisemitism. That Soros is Jewish is essential to the message.
Scapegoating outsiders and minority groups by labeling them as threatening / disloyal has been a long been an effective way for would-be dictators to build/consolidate support among a fearful and cowardly populace.
I don't know where did you get this from, but the two consultants, who were hired to design the Soros campaign are jews: Arthur Finkelstein and George Birnbaum. Source: https://24.hu/belfold/2019/01/14/soros-gyorgy-fidesz-kampany... (Hungarian) .
Why do you think it’s impossible for Jewish political consultants to organize an antisemitic propaganda campaign?
To take a US example, Donald Trump’s white supremacist policy advisor and speechwriter Stephen Miller is Jewish.