Hungary's Authoritarian Tilt

[azulmagia]

Remember how back in the Great Depression, a whole bunch of countries went authoritarian if not full-bore totalitarian?

Well, in the latest capitalist crisis, it looks like it might be happening again, this time in Hungary. A right-wing party called Fidesz is basically taking over the place:

Quote:

Hungary was saddled with communist-era debt that was the largest per capita of any of the former Soviet satellite states. It has not been able to get its books in order since. The prior Socialist government, elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006, was mired in scandal and became hugely unpopular. But then economics made things worse.

Hungary had a housing bubble, fueled by mortgages that Hungarians took out in euros and Swiss francs. The world economic crisis, combined with economic mismanagement of the prior government, resulted in a sharp fall in the forint (Hungary’s national currency). As a result, Hungarians’ mortgage payments suddenly doubled and even tripled. The numbers tell the story:

The volatility of the forint forced the prior government to install a technocratic prime minister, who quickly stabilized Hungary’s finances, with the help of an IMF loan.

But the electorate was angry. At the next opportunity, they voted for the primary opposition party, Fidesz.

With less than 20% approval now, Fidesz is wrecking Hungary’s prior constitutional order and no one inside the country seems to be able to stop it. Opposition to Fidesz is not well-organized; no other political party is strong enough to mobilize the unhappiness. And the next election is not until 2014.

Paul’s column generated a huge reaction in Hungary. And the Fidesz government has responded by proposing to amend the rules of parliamentary procedure so that no law needs to be debated publicly if 2/3rds of the parliament introduces the law. And Fidesz, with its lock-step 2/3rds majority, can now push through the rest of its political program without any opportunity for anyone to object.

(link)

Under the new constitutional order, the judiciary has taken the largest hit. The Constitutional Court, which once had the responsibility to review nearly all laws for constitutionality, has been killed off in three ways. First, the government expanded the number of judges on the bench and filled the new positions with their own political allies (think: Roosevelt’s court-packing plan). Then, the government restricted the jurisdiction of the court so that it can no longer review any law that has an impact on the budget, like laws pertaining to taxes and austerity programs, unless the law infringes particular listed rights. Finally, the government changed the rules of access to the court so that it will no longer be easily able to review laws in the abstract for their compliance with the constitution. Moreover, individuals can no longer challenge the constitutionality of laws without first going through a lengthy process in the ordinary courts. The old Constitutional Court, which has served as the major check on governmental power in a unicameral parliamentary system, is now functionally dead.

The ordinary judiciary has suffered a similar fate. The government lowered the retirement age for judges from 70 to 62, giving judges only a few months to adjust to their new futures. More than 200 judges will be forced to retire from the bench starting on January 1, including most of the court presidents who assign cases and manage the daily workings of courts. The new law on the judiciary requires that the Supreme Court president have at least five years of Hungarian judicial experience. The current president of the Supreme Court is disqualified because his 17 years of experience as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights do not count. Therefore, he must leave office on January 1 also.

The law on the judiciary also creates a new National Judicial Office with a single person at the helm who has the power to replace the retiring judges and to name future judges. This person also has the power to move any sitting judge to a different court. A new constitutional amendment – to the new constitution! – will permit both the public prosecutor and the head of this new National Judicial Office to choose which judge will hear each case.

The independence of the judiciary is over when a government puts its own judges onto the bench, moves them around at will, and then selects which ones get particular cases to decide.

The Vice President of the European Commission for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, issued a strongly worded request for information about the new law last week and demanded immediate replies from the Hungarian government. She also strongly urged the government “to ensure . . . that no measure is implemented until doubts about its compliance with EU law are removed.” The government responded by saying all of these changes are improvements and it seems to be going ahead with implementing the new constitutional framework despite the strong caution from Brussels.

In the new constitutional system, the legal supervision of elections has also been changed. Before the last election, the norm was for the five-member Election Commission to be politically diverse and for the government of the day to consult the opposition before nominating candidates. But the rules were changed last year so that each new national election is now accompanied by a new choice of election commissioners. As a result, the existing commissioners were removed from their offices without allowing them to finish their terms and now the Election Commission consists of five members of the governing party.

The new election law specifies the precise boundaries of the new electoral districts that will send representatives to the parliament. But the new districts are drawn in such a way that no other party on the political horizon besides Fidesz is likely to win elections. A respected Hungarian think tank ran the numbers from the last three elections using the new district boundaries. Fidesz would have won all three elections, including the two they actually lost.

Virtually every independent political institution has taken a hit. The human rights, data protection and minority affairs ombudsmen have been collapsed into one lesser post. The public prosecutor, the state audit office and, most recently, the Central Bank are all slated for more overtly political management in the new legal order.

And all of this has happened while the press operates under day-to-day intimidation. A draconian set of media laws created a new media board – staffed only by Fidesz party loyalists with a chair who is appointed by the Prime Minister to a nine-year term. This board can review all public and private media for their compliance with a nebulous standard of political “balance” and has the power to bankrupt any news organization with large fines. It is not surprising that the media have become self-censoring. This new media regime has been severely criticized by the European Commissioner for Communications, among others.

The new constitution also accepts conservative Christian social doctrine as state policy, in a country where only 21% of the population attends any religious services at all. The fetus is protected from the moment of conception. Marriage is only legal if between a man and a woman. The constitution “recognize(s) the role of Christianity in preserving nationhood” and holds that “the family and the nation constitute the principal framework of our coexistence.” While these religious beliefs are hard-wired into the constitution, a new law on the status of religion cut the number of state-recognized churches to only fourteen, deregistering 348 other churches.

.....

The only parties that might replace Fidesz in the current Hungarian landscape are the Socialist Party or, in a real nightmare scenario, the far-right Jobbik. Under laws that preceded Fidesz’s election last year, political parties that are anti-constitutional may be banned. Some have suggested that Fidesz could eliminate Jobbik in this way. In fact, Europe probably would not mind if Jobbik were excluded from public life because other European countries can ban extremist parties also. But what about Fidesz’s primary competition – the Socialists?

According to a proposed constitutional amendment, the crimes of the former communist party will be listed in the constitution and the statute of limitations for prosecuting crimes committed during the communist period will be lifted. The former communist party is branded a criminal organization and the current opposition Socialist Party is designated as their legal successor. It is still unclear, legally speaking, what this amendment means. But it is probably not good for the major opposition party.

(link)

And as for this last proposal, which may be used to outlaw the Socialist Party:

Quote:

Hungary’s new constitution is already short on democratic legitimacy. It is the government’s constitution, one which is not only fiercely opposed by a considerable segment of the population, but which was intentionally written to ensure victory over the government’s enemies. Even before the constitution comes into effect in 2012, however, the Hungarian government is already amending this glorious document. This time, their goal is to legislate history: to make it a law of the country that the biggest opposition party is guilty of crimes committed during the years of Communism.

The supposed basis for this claim is the historic continuity between the state party before 1989 (the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party) and the Hungarian Socialist Party – a hotly contested connection both by historians and legal scholars. According to a poll, the party which is to bear collective guilt for the crimes committed in the period beginning in 1945 and commencing in 1990 would receive 27% of the votes if parliamentary elections were held this Sunday.

....

Legal concerns notwithstanding, the selective historical principles reflected in the constitutional amendment would probably make a high school student blush when it limits the so-called historic continuity to the membership of the Hungarian Socialist Party.

To be sure, the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party is still in existence, and its leader, Gyula Thürmer grudgingly distances himself from the Hungarian Socialist Party on every occasion he can find. While the Hungarian Socialist Party did inherit the wealth of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party during the years of transition, they represent a left-wing socialist program rather than dictatorial aspirations to one-party rule. And some of the crimes on the list are from the time before the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party even existed, these took place during the rule of the Hungarian Workers’ Party.

What is more, members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party are found on both sides of the aisle: three ministers of the current government and the President of Hungary were long-time party members. László Kövér, the President of the Hungarian Parliament worked in a research institute operated by the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party before he found his way to the opposition, while at least four important Fidesz politicians, among them Viktor Orbán, were officers of the Communist Youth League.

In other controversial passages of the same constitutional amendment, a distinction is made among officers of the (supposedly independent) judiciary. Some of them are going to have to return their mandate once the new constitution comes into effect, so that a new officer could be appointed in their place. Among them are the ombudsman for data protection and freedom of information (András Jóri, who intervened on many occasions on behalf of the government’s opposition), and the president of the Supreme Court, András Baka. Others could continue filling out their mandates as set out by the previous constitution. The ombudsman for civil rights, and the ombudsman for minority rights and the ombudsman for environmental affairs will serve a full term – apparently they did not oppose the government’s ambitions enough to warrant replacement.

The amendment provides no explanation for the selective replacement of members of the judiciary – no reasonable explanation fits the pattern except the above. The amendment therefore also violates the principle of an independent judiciary, so blatantly that the European Commission is almost certain to initiate legal proceedings against these particular provisions at the European Court.

(link)[/url

So here's the situation:

- The ruling party, Fidesz is using its supermajority to entrench its position by compromising democratic norms.

- The main opposition party, the Socilaists, are potentially being targeted for elimination on the flimsy grounds that they are the "successor party" to the one that ran the former Stalinist regime.

- Jobbik, the far right party, has a paramilitary wing called the Hungarian Guard and apparently doesn't like Gypsies that much.

Thoughts?

[azulmagia]

Nobody cares about Hungary?

[YellowKumquat]

With economic times tough, in particular the Euro's future up in the air, I suspect we will be seeing more unusual and even dangerous characters making all kinds of populist promises, coming to power as with what we are seeing in Hungary.

Reminds me a bit of what Argentina just did. Their economy is falling apart there once again due to crazy economic policies, and so now the government has banned free press, and is threatening to fight the UK once again for the Falkland islands. This isn't going to end well. 2012 is gearing up to be an interesting year.

"As Argentina Seizes Newsprint, Press Freedom Suffers"

http://news.investors.com/Article/595871/201112231844/argentina-newsprint-nationalization-hurts-freedom.htm

"Falklands War Round II?"

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/12/07/falklands-war-round-ii/

[Less Than Liz]

I keep reading this as "Hungary's Authoritarian Tit."

[Demon Kagerou]

I care about Hungary because I've been there and I want to do back. There is oh so much to Budapest and beyond I missed. Also, the wine is awesome. I'm not sure their economic issues are independent of the rest of new EU members. When I was there in 2008, their franc was wildly inflated compared to the Euro (like 10,000 Hungarians francs was $50, and that was with 1 USD = 1.5 Euro at the time). Would be great for tourism, being so cheap... like much of Eastern Europe.... but if they adopted the Euro completely, they'd lose the competitive edge.

[azulmagia]

YellowKumquat

Reminds me a bit of what Argentina just did. Their economy is falling apart there once again due to crazy economic policies, and so now the government has banned free press...

No it hasn't. All the government has done is convert a private newsprint monopoly (Papel Prensa) into a nationalized concern. A private monopoly which incidentally was acquired under very suspicious circumstances.

And let's face it, your source is a piece of s**t. Any source that says that Salvador Allende was overthrown in any kind of "popular rebellion", is blatantly LYING.

And the claim that Argentina is presently a "one-party state" is also a lie.

[Slick Southpaw]

azulmagia

- The main opposition party, the Socilaists, are potentially being targeted for elimination on the flimsy grounds that they are the "successor party" to the one that ran the former Stalinist regime.

Considering what Stalinist regime did to Hungary, I'm not surprised that such grudges are being kept by us Magyars. It's a family tradition of dislike. Shoot, I'm part Hungarian, I grew up with this, and I've never been to the villages my family immigrated from, but all the communities I've met in Canada and across the US bear that kind of hatred.

azulmagia

- Jobbik, the far right party, has a paramilitary wing called the Hungarian Guard and apparently doesn't like Gypsies that much.

Also not surprised. Not liking Gypsies is often a time-honored tradition and passed from generation to generation. Some gypsies, I'm sure are good folk. But it's hard sorting out the decent folk and considering histories...it's hard to give people a chance when half of them seem to not value education and improving their livelihoods when given the opportunity. I can see why Jobbik would be hesitant, although I think their stances are a bit too racist for my taste. I'm just content with racist jokes about Gypsies.

Both socialists and gypsies make excellent scapegoats, and in desperate times, why not go authoritarian route when there's uncertainty and fear? History shows that this happens all the time, though I'm disappointed it's becoming more problematic in Hungary.

[azulmagia]

Kim Lane Scheppele updates the situation:

Quote:

On New Year’s Day, the new Hungarian constitution became law. The Hungarian parliament has been preparing for this event by passing a blizzard of “cardinal” – or super-majority – laws, changing the shape of virtually every political institution in Hungary and making the guarantee of constitutional rights less secure. In the last two weeks alone, the parliament has enacted so many new laws that it has been almost impossible to keep up. And to top it off, there was also a huge new omnibus constitutional amendment – an amendment to the new constitution even before it went into effect. By one commentator’s count, the Fidesz government has enacted 359 new laws since it came to power 18 months ago.

All of the laws connected to the new constitutional structure kicked into action yesterday if they hadn’t already taken effect. As a result, with the new year, Hungarians began living in a new constitutional order. In this new order, all of the escape hatches that would permit reentry into a constitutional democracy have been bolted shut. If constitutions are supposed to guarantee checks on political power and ensure the rights of citizens, this is an unconstitutional constitution.

.....

In the last two weeks of the year, parliament passed so many major laws that it was nearly impossible for anyone – including, presumably the obedient government MPs themselves – to keep track of what they were voting on. On multiple occasions over the last two weeks, the parliament met late into the night and often voted on several major laws in one sitting. The actual texts of the laws on which they were voting were often unclear at the time that the governing party voted en masse for them. Major amendments were introduced at the last minute and then not debated. There was no dissent from within the governing parties and almost no votes from any of the opposition parties. (The far-right Jobbik deputies voted for the central bank law, however.) On both December 23 and December 30, the Socialists and the LMP deputies walked out in protest, a fact marked in the public record only by the unanimous votes recorded for many of these laws.

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Last week, the Constitutional Court, which was pronounced dead when its ranks were expanded and packed with government supporters earlier in the year, lumbered back to life with three new decisions that appeared to deal strong blows to the Fidesz government. The Court struck down part of the media law, invalidated the controversial law on the status of churches and said that it was unconstitutional for the public prosecutor to have the power to pick which judges would hear the criminal cases he brought.

But by week’s end, all of those decisions had been shown to be ineffective at actually stopping any of the government’s drives to centralize power. The government addressed the Court’s decision on the public prosecutor’s power to select judges for specific cases by amending the constitution to permit him to do it. The Court’s decision on the media law touched only a tiny corner of the vast web of media regulation and avoided the larger questions it had been asked to decide about whether the media board could be brought entirely under the governing party’s control. The ineffectiveness of the Constitutional Court’s decision was revealed when the media board took away the broadcast license from the last independent radio station, KlubRadio, two days after the Constitutional Court decision was announced. And the law on churches, where the Court’s only objections had been that the parliament had engaged in procedural errors while passing the law the first time, was reintroduced into the parliament and passed again with its content almost unchanged. The Court had been asked to address many constitutional issues in the substance of the law on the status of churches, but it left those questions unanswered.

(link)

If you ask me, it's time the Hungarians sloughed off this tyrannical yoke.

[Obi Aoi]

Yeah... Our politics can be deep sh*t.... Jobbik hates them, yeah. I won't politicize but that government pretty much does the opposite to what they promised (naturally). -.- (No I never voted for them).
Some notes: LMP is a smaller party, their name means "Politics can be different". They are not perfect either though, but I don't know much about them.
Fidesz and the socialist leftside party (MSZP - Hungarian Socialist Party) are long-term... "enemies". Kinda. Naturally many people hate this present situation here... and a lot of people complain in one of the talking radio shows (called "We discuss it!" wink for example. Less people can get to universities on the nation's support for example.

[LSD TV]

Sorry to gravedig this. I don't think this is a result of the financial crisis, they've always been a bit like that. Viktor Orban is a pretty scary guy.