epa08332120 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (C) arrives for the plenary session of the Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, 30 March 2020. Reports state MPs approved legislation that extends a state of emergency and gives the government extraordinary powers due to the ongoing pandemic of the Covid-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. EPA-EFE/Zoltan Mathe HUNGARY OUT

The power of emergency in Hungary

Posted at 18:09h in by cook-comm

Under cover of the COVID-19 crisis, Hungary’s parliament voted by a thumping majority to pass the “Bill on the Protection against Coronavirus,” which granted Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, rule by decree for as long as he deems.  Political Capital, a Budapest consultancy, notes the details.  The Times thundered, Politico explained and an editorial in the Financial Times reminded that Mr Orbán “declared a state of emergency over the migrant crisis in 2015.  It is still in force.”

Photo: Zoltan Mathe/EPA