Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban was given immense power to rule by decree during the initial outbreak of COVID-19, and while the power to rule by decree has been repealed, Orban still retains unprecedented executive power and was once again given broad authority as the virus resurged. This concentration of power led to concerns about authoritarianism, but for Hungary, such an act was the culmination of democratic backsliding decades in the making under the rule of Fidesz. It is crucial to understand the context behind Fidesz’s rise to gauge the health of the country’s democracy and what, if any, chance there is for a healthier Hungarian democracy. Orban’s path to power consisted of three major developments: the new constitution, the consolidation of media power under party loyalists, and the COVID-19 crisis.
A New Order
Following corruption scandals in the ruling socialist party, Orban’s Fidesz party returned to power in the 2010 election with a vengeance. Having secured an absolute majority of seats in the Diet, Fidesz began the steps necessary to create a new constitution, one that structurally favored Fidesz, in four key ways: “limiting the Constitutional Court, dooming the referendum process, asserting control over the media, and putting a Fidesz loyalist in the presidency.” They did this by changing the nomination process and jurisdiction of the court, placing a Fidesz-run Election Commission in charge of referendums to ensure the failure of unapproved policies, forming ties with local oligarchs in the media industry, and simply electing an agreeable president to nullify the presidential check on the Diet’s authority. With that accomplished, Fidesz’s new constitution passed through the Diet resulting in sweeping changes to the political system. These changes slashed the number of seats in parliament, weakened judicial oversight, gerrymandered and altered the electoral system to add more majoritarian aspects that would strategically benefit Fidesz and result in their ability to win a simple majority of the popular vote, but a supermajority of the seats in the Diet. This constitution was then enshrined through judicial review to maintain Fidesz’s hegemony in perpetuity–a known tactic of stealth authoritarianism.
Lights, Camera, Authoritarianism!
While Hungary was once considered one of the fairer states for media in Eastern Europe, the election of Fidesz marked a decline in their fairness and freedom. This is in part due to the fact that Fidesz-friendly oligarchs formed a conglomeration of more than 400 media companies, both state-owned and private, as a massive propaganda outlet. Additionally, the new government created a Media Council to regulate media–conveniently stacked with Fidesz members. This gave Orban immense power to trump up allegations and punitive measures against dissenters. This also gave Fidesz the ability to minimize their own scandals, such as a noted homophobic MP breaking covid guidelines for a gay orgy. More concerningly, however, Fidesz’s control of the media blends public broadcasting with overt propaganda and fake news. This acts as a mouthpiece for Fidesz to spew some of the more outlandish antisemitic and xenophobic theories against George Soros that fueled their 2018 bill suppressing civil society groups. This media power seems entrenched as the European Union has seemed almost powerless to stop it.
Along Comes COVID
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw numerous states take stringent measures against the virus, but in Hungary, as the cases rose so did Orban’s executive authority–to unprecedented levels. The prime minister was given power to rule by decree and extended the expiration date of his powers. The open-ended time frame was unanimously repealed, but as a second wave descended upon Europe, he was once again given broad executive power. The application of such power extends far beyond typical COVID-19 procedures, offering Orban power to jail those who spread fake news–an allegation Fidesz typically levies at dissenters in a Trumpian fashion. Protesters, journalists, and average citizens have seen fines or legal action on these grounds for criticizing the way the pandemic has been handled. While his authority to rule by decree this time has been limited in timespan, Orban has set a precedent for strong executive power during a crisis, releasing a proverbial genie from the bottle.
Where Will Hungary Go From Here?
Fidesz used textbook tactics of democratic backsliding to use the tools provided by democratic institutions to slant the playing field in their favor. They can win only roughly 50% of the electorate and still maintain a full supermajority in the Diet, and owing to the constitutional changes, attempts at structural change will be not only ineffective but unconstitutional through judicial review. The hybrid regime set up by Orban and Fidesz has the gilded exterior of a modern European democracy, but the institutions themselves ensure a de facto one-party state. With their control of the media, they ensure that this structure will be supported by Hungarians across the country. With the crisis of COVID-19, Orban’s power is stronger than ever. The situation of democracy is grim in Hungary for the foreseeable future.
I find this to be a super interesting article about using COVID as an excuse to further authoritarian agendas! It made me think more about the role that political scientists will play in the aftermath of the pandemic in differentiating between instances of COVID-induced backsliding and instances of legitimate exercises of government authority during a public health emergency. While such judgements are common in the democratic backsliding literature, the process will only become more difficult because the even the legitimate restrictions put in place significantly affected people’s civil liberties. For instance, it would be difficult to picture a case where an executive orders all people to stay home in a non-public health emergency that would be considered a valid exercise of state power.
Very interesting article, I just read. What Victor Orban is doing should be a worrying sign for other democracies in Europe not to fall into, but what surprises me is the fact how open they are for the change into the rules. The lack of the EU from doing anything due to Polands protection the Hungary and vice versa has allowed an authoritarian government to rule under the liberal continent of Europe. The use of emergency powers is not new to a republic that is transforming into an authoritarian rule. What Hungary is experiencing is like most former soviet bloc countries when communism fell and the rise of oligarchs that control most of the resources of the country. The buying up of media, markets, land, and control of government has left them with total absolute control to the country. Ukraine was the biggest example before the revolution that over thrown Viktor Yanukovych where his party and his cronies taken control all of the media and resources in the country. When it came with the European Union or Russia. Viktor Yanukovych wanted to maintain relations with Russia as Europe would harm his power. Victor Orban has been very positive towards Russia for that same reason. While Yanukovych was overthrown in 2014. Eastern Europe is very vulnerable to men like Yanukovych and Orban. When I heard about the emergency powers that were given to Orban, I thought to myself, yep just wait as they will extend his rule by decree when the time is going to expire. It is hard to see the use of emergency powers in a situation when life is normal but once people and society are threatened the use of emergency powers helps the ruling elite to exploit an opportune moment. When President Taft was the Supreme Court Chief, he created a belief where if the constitution and the law is silent when an emergency hits, the president does not have the authority to do anything till Congress passes a law that gives him the authorization. This belief I saw for the longest time that hold a president from abusing his powers, but here we can see that the parliament did give him the authority and yet, it is being abused for their own political gain. While Victor Orban isn’t arresting people or opposition, this is just the start for his rule.
I want to ask is there any resistance or push back inside and outside of the country from the moves, he made in emergency powers? If so, how are they responding to it?