The rise of the Hungarian Viktator?
natalie hamill, 6 January 2012
By Lucy Hatton
There is suggestion that Hungary’s position in the European Union may no longer be tenable after the coming into force of the new Hungarian Constitution, or Fundamental Law, on 1 January. This controversial constitution has been heavily criticised for being overly right-wing and eroding the democracy so precious to Hungary since the fall of communism in the country in 1989. The contradiction between some of the provisions of the new constitution and those democratic values inherent in the treaties of the EU has led to the claim from a former US Ambassador to Budapest, that Hungary “won’t be tolerated if it no longer counts as a democracy”.
Earlier this week, tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets in protest against the constitution and its accompanying laws, accusing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, of the ruling Fidesz party, of dictatorship and labelling him ‘the Viktator’. Orbán’s party was elected in 2010 with a two thirds (68 per cent) majority in the Hungarian parliament which enables it to pass any legislative moves or constitutional amendments it wishes. Whilst Orbán claims that the constitution is long overdue, and marks the completion of the country’s transition from communism to democracy, member of the Hungarian parliament Tibor Szanyi has labelled Hungary the “darkest place in Europe” following its implementation.
The provisions of the constitution that have come under scrutiny include: the explicit reference to Christianity as fundamental to the nationhood of Hungary, and the recognition of just 14 religious groups compared to the previous 300; the definition of marriage as the union of man and woman, excluding reference to family in the form of cohabiting or same-sex couples or single parents, and the declaration of human life as beginning at the point of conception and requiring protection from that moment, which has sparked concerns of a forthcoming ban on abortion. Changes to the electoral system are also thought to endanger the potential of the Hungarian opposition to replace the Fidesz party in government in future elections.
The concerning contents of the constitution follow a string of other power-grabbing laws passed by the government, including curtailing the freedom of the media, and curbing the independence of the Hungarian judiciary and central bank. The latter measure has placed the central bank under the control of the government, a move that was declared by European Commission President José Manual Barroso to be in contradiction of EU law and was requested by him on two separate occasions to be rethought. Nevertheless, Orbán proceeded with the act which places in question the potential for Hungary to progress into the final stages of EMU and adopt the Euro. Further doubts are raised about this due to the new constitution declaring that the only legal tender in Hungary shall be the current national currency, the Forint, and therefore should it prove difficult for the constitution to be amended in the future it may well be impossible for Hungary to adopt the Euro, as it is obliged to do under its accession treaty. It has to be questioned how a country which has expressed such disregard for the EU’s institutions and its membership agreements can maintain a comfortable position within the EU.
Based on the contents of the constitution and the attitudes of Hungary’s leaders, concerns about Hungary pursuing a different direction to the rest of Eastern Europe and possessing the potential to return to its communist past do not appear unfounded. As the leader of the liberal faction of the European Parliament proclaimed on the adoption of the constitution by the Hungarian parliament in April last year, the constitution resembles “a Trojan horse for a more authoritarian political system in Hungary based on the perpetuation of one party rule”.
Whether or not this is an accurate claim is yet to be seen, but for now it is certain that the Hungarian government has thrown the spotlight upon its country as one on whose political direction the EU should keep a close eye.