Viktor Orban Takes Sole Command of Hungary With Pandemic Emergency Law

[denem]

Source: Bloomberg

Hungary's parliament handed Prime Minister Viktor Orban the right to rule by decree indefinitely, effectively putting the European Union democracy under his sole command for as long as he sees fit.

While governments around the world assume emergency powers to fight the coronavirus, locking down all aspects of every-day life and shutting borders, few democracies have given their governments such latitude without an end date.

Hungary's ruling party lawmakers overrode the objections of the opposition in a vote on Monday, handing Orban the right to bypass the assembly on any law. The Constitutional Court, which Orban has stacked with loyalists, will be the main body capable of reviewing government actions.

"I don't know of another democracy where the government has effectively asked for a free hand to do anything for however long," said Renata Uitz, director of the comparative constitutional-law program at Central European University in Budapest.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-30/orban-takes-sole-command-of-hungary-with-pandemic-emergency-law

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I don't know of another democracy where the government has effectively asked for a free hand to do anything for however long !

Here's a hint Renata: You fought side by side with them in Operation Barbarossa.

[texasleo]

1. This is some scary shit

[roamer65]

2. As an EU member state, Hungary is still bound to EU law.

Orban had better keep this in mind, or he will have a date with the judges in EU courts.

[denem]

3. After all, Hungary signed a piece of paper.

[jorgevlorgan]

19. More importantly, any future military or economic assistance, trade agreements, and overall societal

wellbeing rests largely on honoring that "piece of paper."

[BComplex]

4. Hungary has gone all white supremacist, "Christian only" nation, tax breaks for lots of white babies

This is just right on course for that country.

[Archae]

7. I saw that on "60 Minutes" a week ago, Sunday.

They want Hungarian whites-only making babies.

[sandensea]

9. They have a long history of fascism, sadly.

Hungary's Miklos Horthy was among the first - and most enthusiastic - Eastern European dictators to align his regime with Hitler's. No invasion necessary.

Orban is very much in that mold.

Even today, many Hungarian-Americans still subscribe to their Mussolini-esque politics (staunch Republicans). With many exceptions - but still.

[DBoon]

13. Horthy wasn't the worst of it

Hungary had their own neo-Nazi group, the Arrow Cross. When Horthy was removed near the end of WWII, the German Nazis put the Arrow Cross in charge with devastating consequences:

The Arrow Cross Party (Hungarian: Nyilaskeresztes Párt – Hungarista Mozgalom, literally "Arrow Cross Party-Hungarist Movement", abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary known as the Government of National Unity. They were in power from 15 October 1944 to 28 March 1945. During its short rule, ten to fifteen thousand civilians (many of whom were Jews and Romani) were murdered outright,[2][3] and 80,000 people were deported from Hungary to various concentration camps in Austria.[4] After the war, Szálasi and other Arrow Cross leaders were tried as war criminals by Hungarian courts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_Cross_Party

[sandensea]

16. Thank you for that.

Always good to have these important details filled in.

It's amazing how insidious and far-reaching the fascist effort was in Europe - and worldwide.

'Was', I said?

[DBoon]

17. I think Horthy was removed because he switched to the Soviet side

He saw the inevitable, and decided to back Stalin. Hitler's supporters then removed him.

Need to check my sources for this.

[moonscape]

22. My mother got out of Hungary (harrowing escape - bus

bombed, etc) to get to Jugoslavia in late 1944 in order to have my sister as she was 8 months pregnant. It was too risky and impossible for my father to get out so he went into hiding in a cellar in Budapest with several others. My parents were not able to reunite for 1.5 yrs and it took a yr for my mother to find out my father was still alive.

My parents are gone now, but it would surely pain my father to see what is happening, again, in Hungary.

[dalton99a]

5. Germany did that with the Enabling Act

It turned out well. Very, very well

[denem]

8. And Hungary fought with them as allies in Barbarossa.

[ck4829]

6. Ah, "temporary emergency powers"

[bucolic_frolic]

10. Don't miss the important point

"as long as he sees fit"

No ambiguity there. All in, resolute, fait accompli. Amazing parliament sees no future role for itself. It is bad for one's political career.

[ResistantAmerican17]

11. Ahhhh the 2020 version of the Reichstag fire.

And remember, dipshit donnie loves Orban.

[ck4829]

24. +1

[lostnfound]

12. Link broken

[denem]

14. Fixed. Sorry.

[shotten99]

15. This won't be the last.

Poland and quite possibly Romania will follow suit if the EU doesn't react.

[Mickju]

20. This is what Trump would like to do.

[ck4829]

25. He's the conclusion of not just Trump but the radical right

You know how our right obsesses over George Soros? The Orban government has put up posters of George Soros and they've pretty much turned him into an Emmanuel Goldstein figure.

[PSPS]

21. Orban is buds with trump, and was on board with trump/giuliani's Ukraine charade

Welcomed to the white house last May, too. Only the best people!

[sarisataka]

23. Correction- the Enabling Act of 1933

Was not indefinite. It lasted for four years unless renewed by the Reichstag, which they duly did in 1937 and 1941.

[AnnieBW]

26. This is what Bannon and Miller want for this country

DOLT 45 and Pence taking sole command of the U.S. -