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Why is the Hungarian government doing this?
The direct reason is the letter that the Nordic Foreign Ministers sent to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe last week. There, they expressed concern about events in Hungary after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his party pushed for a “coronal law” that gives the government considerably greater powers.
But Orbán has been angry with Sweden and the other Nordic countries for a long time. The Hungarian power elite often points to the Swedes as part of a “left liberal mainstream” and a threat to the Hungarian nationalist project.
Dissuasive reports of Sweden as a country on the brink of collapse, due to Muslim immigration, have been in the government-run media for several years. Hungarian ministers sometimes personally attack their Swedish counterparts, such as when one of them at the time called then Prime Minister Annika Strandhäll “a poor sick man”.
At the same time, Hungarian embassies in Europe are extremely active, protesting against the media and articles in host countries that the Budapest government does not like.
What do Orbán and his government want to achieve with this?
Most of the statements to the outside world are probably intended primarily for domestic consumption. Since his return as Prime Minister in 2010, Orbán has built his political strategy to promote the image of external threats to Hungary and the Hungarians, threats that only he can protect the inhabitants.
Threats may include immigration from Muslim countries, the financier and philanthropist George Soros, the EU, sometimes also individual member states of the Union. Or as now the crown pandemic.
By referring to these threats, Orbán has gained more and more power over himself and his government. Courts and the media have lost their independence, and the latest emergency legislation also deprives Parliament of much of its power.
When anyone criticizes this, Hungarian ministers, media or diplomats immediately point them out and accuse them of spreading “false news”. It serves as a way to demonstrate that you defend your country.
The pandemic also makes it possible to present criticism as extra-malicious: in practice they are accused of spreading the infection.
As Orbán himself recently wrote to the Council of Europe:
“If you can’t help us in the current crisis, at least avoid blocking our efforts to stop the infection.”
But isn’t Hungary’s action against the pandemic like other countries?
Hungarian emergency legislation goes further than other EU countries. The government’s mandate to rule by decree gives you the right to abolish or modify all existing laws. The rule in the Constitution that states that Parliament must extend the state of emergency every two weeks has been eliminated.
The state of emergency applies in principle whenever the government considers it appropriate. In theory, Parliament can restore the right to extend it, but this will not happen, since it would require massive dismissals from the Fidesz government.
In the shadow of the crown crisis, the government has deprived all political parties of their state funding until the end of the year. Municipalities, many of them controlled by the opposition, have lost much of their budget, which instead deals with the state.
Journalists and others who “spread false information” about the pandemic, and even measures to stop it, are now at risk of up to five years in prison.
The Council of Europe and the Nordic countries are not alone in criticizing Hungary. A few weeks ago, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Hungary, and also Poland, for its actions during the crisis as “totally incompatible with European values”.
Freedom House is one of several human rights organizations that have degraded Hungary so that the country is no longer classified as a full democracy but as a “hybrid regime”.
Accused of lies about Hungary
Sweden’s Hungarian ambassador, Dag Hartelius, was called to the Foreign Ministry in Budapest on Monday along with colleagues from Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accuses Facebook of the five Nordic countries for “lies about building a dictatorship and infinite and unlimited power, etc.”.
The background is a letter to the Council of Europe, signed by the five Nordic foreign ministers, expressing concern over new emergency legislation in Hungary that gives the government vastly expanded power.
… Read more
So Viktor Orbán took control of the media in Hungary
The opposition: Orbán uses the virus to gain unlimited power in Hungary
