
Hungarian Coronavirus Act passes granting PM Orban unprecedented emergency power - haunter
https://index.hu/english/2020/03/30/hungary_coronavirus_act_parliament_viktor_orban_fidesz_sweeping_powers_indefinite_term/
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cs702
From the Wikipedia page on demagogues
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demagogue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demagogue)):

"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.

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btown
For those skipping to the comments section, this is a choice quote from the
legislation:

"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.

~~~
cheez
Don't worry, politicians in your country are taking notes.

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loriverkutya
The EU is pretty much opposing this already:
[https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-
room/20200324IP...](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-
room/20200324IPR75702/ep-stands-up-for-democracy-in-hungary-during-covid-19)

~~~
cultus
The time to oppose Orban would have been a few years ago. I'd like to think
the EU would take strong action over this, but the unanimity requirements for
situations like this make it a total non-starter.

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.

~~~
pjc50
On the other hand, that level of centralisation of soverignty isn't popular.

~~~
saiya-jin
In the eastern part of EU, there are plenty of states including my own which
were centrally planned during communism, and people have strong negative
emotions towards that, for some good reasons. It just didn't work very well,
and once performant economies were brought on the level of 3rd world
counterparts simply by bad long term management over 40 years.

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.

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D-Coder
What, the Parliament building was too fireproof?

~~~
Twixes
Corrupt government aside, it's a fantastic building, one of the most
impressive in Europe IMO. Absolutely beautiful and monumental, built when it
was still Austria-Hungary. I recommend anyone visiting Budapest to see it at
night and tour the inside.

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nickpinkston
Not to be overly alarmist, but the history of these kinds of emergency powers
hasn't been great.

Nazi Germany was born from such:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933)

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sershe
The reason this is first happening in Hungary is only because Orban was
already both more eager for, and more capable of, such a step. I suspect this
is just the beginning.

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.

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temp-dude-87844
Orban's leadership is a complex topic. His party was once the youth center-
right opposition that eventually eclipsed all other center-right parties; they
proved that it was possible to offer a meaningful alternative to the socialist
party and chart a different path. (Corruption and favoritism were issues with
both right-wing and left-wing administrations.)

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.

~~~
jacobolus
> _cooked up a ridiculous propaganda campaign to demonize a rich
> philanthropist_

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.

~~~
aries1980
> A key part of this is preying on and amplifying racism and antisemitism.
> That Soros is Jewish is essential to the message.

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...](https://24.hu/belfold/2019/01/14/soros-gyorgy-fidesz-kampany-
arthur-finkelstein-george-birnbaum/) (Hungarian) .

~~~
jacobolus
Here’s an English language source,
[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hnsgrassegger/george-
so...](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hnsgrassegger/george-soros-
conspiracy-finkelstein-birnbaum-orban-netanyahu)

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.

~~~
aries1980
I don't think it is impossible, but in such an unlikely case, I'd require
direct proof to the antisemitic propaganda from the Hungarian government in
relation to the (populist indeed) George Soros campaign.

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wesleywt
He should take all the responsibility then.

