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Hungary’s Orbán Orders Army To Enforce Rules Amid Controversy

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News reporting from Budapest, Hungary

(Worthy News) – Hungary’s authoritarian prime minister asked the army to help enforce a nightly curfew while introducing constitutional changes that critics said were meant to keep him in power. Viktor Orbán claimed the military was needed to maintain order during a coronavirus state of emergency that allows him to rule by decree.

While troops were underway, Orbán’s government came with constitutional measures that could force opposition parties to unite to fight the 2022 election. The amendments introduced near midnight this week also reduce transparency over public money, prompting an angry reaction from opposition legislators.

“Viktor Orbán has become unworthy of his office once and for all,” a joint statement from six opposition parties said this week. “We demand that he withdraws these bills and spends the rest of his time in office without theft and manipulation.”

The opposition added that “This only shows that he no longer feels safe even in the election system he wrote for himself, which is fitting because he will lose.”

Orbán’s Fidesz party is by far the largest in Hungary. Still, a half-dozen opposition parties together could unseat Orbán, opinion polls suggest. Talks are underway on such cooperation for the 2022 elections.

DIVIDE AND RULE?

Under the proposed bill, the opposition has to unite to field a single national list in the election, which analysts said could be difficult considering their different platforms. Keeping their efforts separate could diminish their chances of ending Orbán’s rule.

The government claims the bill is to “ensure that only parties with real voter support may field a national list.” A separate bill also modifies the constitution to define only the state’s revenues and expenditures as public funds. It would exclude state-linked organizations such as state-owned companies.

Critics say this could lead to those funds being more easily hidden from scrutiny amid reports of widespread corruption with much going to Orban family members, friends, and allies.

Opposition legislators said the introduction of these measures while the nation deals with a pandemic shows the “true nature” of what they view as an ideological dictatorship. Parliament, in which Orbán allies have a two-third majority, is due to vote for the perceived autocratic measures despite concerns within the European Union.

BRUSSELS WARNED

But Orbán warned Brussels not to intervene. He cautioned that Hungary might veto the 750-billion coronavirus recovery fund and the one trillion euro EU budget if it links rule-of-law concerns to payments.

Separately, constitutional changes proposed by the conservative nationalist government this week would ban gay couples from adopting children. It also forces parents to raise their children according to “Christian principles.”

Liberal commentators suggested that Prime Minister Orbán, who has ruled continuously for the last decade, seeks to attract conservative voters ahead of the 2022 ballot.

He needs to shore up support as he faces a potential backlash over the coronavirus pandemic and its economic consequences. Authorities reported some 127,000 infections and nearly 2,800 coronavirus related deaths on a population of almost 10-million people.