<nettime> Coronavirus kills its first democracy

[Janos Sugar <sj@c3.hu>]

You could say that Hungary was already "immunocompromised." A decade
under the nation's illiberal nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban,
has corroded the state's checks and balances, cowed the judiciary,
enfeebled civil society and the free press, and reconfigured electoral
politics to the advantage of Orban's ruling Fidesz party. So, when the
coronavirus pandemic hit, Budapest's ailing democracy proved all too
vulnerable.

On Monday, Hungary's parliament passed a controversial bill that gave
Orban sweeping emergency powers for an indefinite period of time.
Parliament is closed, future elections were called off, existing laws
can be suspended and the prime minister is now entitled to rule by
decree. Opposition lawmakers had tried to set a time limit on the
legislation but failed. Orban's commanding two-thirds parliamentary
majority made his new powers a fait accompli.

/.../
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/31/coronavirus-kills-its-first-democracy/
+
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/29/the-guardian-view-on-hungarys-coronavirus-law-orbans-power-grab

.de
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/news-ungarn-coronavirus-usa-markus-soeder-olaf-scholz-a-51098517-286e-447e-8a7e-2761270bebdf



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