On Monday, Hungary gave up on democracy. From the BBC:

Prime Minister Viktor Orban promised to use the extraordinary powers he has been granted "proportionately and rationally". The leader of the opposition Jobbik party, Peter Jakab, said that the law placed the whole of Hungarian democracy in quarantine. Monday's vote was controversial - more than 100,000 people had signed a petition against the move.

But Prime Minister Viktor Orban's conservative Fidesz party has a strong majority. The special powers have no time limit and critics say independent journalists could face jail. According to a survey by the pro-government polling agency Nezopont, 90% of the public want the current emergency measures extended and 72% agree that the criminal code should be strengthened.



The powers are everything a dictator could possibly want. From AFP:



After declaring a state of emergency on March 11, the new bill will give Orban the power to largely rule by decree indefinitely until the government decides the pandemic crisis is over. The bill removes the current requirement for MPs to approve any extension to time limits on the decrees. It also introduces jail terms of up to five years for anyone spreading "falsehoods" about the virus or the measures against it, stoking new worries for press freedom...

Orban has given criticism of the coronavirus law short shrift, accusing critics of alarmism and appealing to "European nit-pickers" to let Hungary defend itself against COVID-19. "If they can't help, then at least don't stop the Hungarians from defending (against the virus)," he said Friday. His justice minister, Judit Varga, told foreign reporters Friday that parliament could revoke the decrees at any time, and that the opposition were "fighting imaginary demons and not dealing with reality”. She also said decrees could be sent to the constitutional court for review...

Last week, opposition MPs said however they do not trust Orban not to abuse unlimited special powers and refused to back the bill in the absence of a time deadline on the decrees.



You’d have to be a fool or naive to trust Orban with anything more powerful than a butter knife. And, of course, he has a big fan in the White House. From The Guardian:



Sitting alongside Orbán in the Oval Office, Trump declared it a “great honour” to host Orbán, who he claimed was “highly respected all over Europe”, particularly for his anti-immigration policies. “You’re respected all over Europe. Probably, like me, a little bit controversial, but that’s OK,” Trump said. “You’ve done a good job and you’ve kept your country safe.” Orbán said his government and the Trump administration were aligned on some global issues. He said: “I would like to express that we are proud to stand together with United States on fighting against illegal migration, on terrorism, and to protect and help Christian communities all around the world.”

So far, this administration*’s response to the pandemic has been to bungle it, to profiteer as best it can, and to enact long-held conservative priorities as far as dismantling environmental and consumer protection. But don’t think there aren’t memos floating around Camp Runamuck. Canaries. Coal mines.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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