#Hungary justice minister @JuditVarga_EU wrote an op-ed in @POLITICOEurope defending emergency powers bill which will allow the government to rule by decree. In making her argument, she revealed why critics are worried about the powers this bill will grant to #Fidesz. Thread:
Varga says other EU gov'ts have "also taken exceptional measures in response" to #coronavirus. This is true, but none, to my knowledge, have declared decree powers with no time limit or sunset clause.
She writes that HU's constitution (which #Fidesz unilaterally authored in 2012) allows emergency decrees to remain in force for 15 days, after which parliament can extend them. This bill would circumvent parliament so existing *or future* decrees would be authorized by default.
Varga argues Parliament may revoke the resolution at any time, so checks+balances are in place. But she fails to mention that a 2/3 vote is required, and Parliament has been controlled by Fidesz's 2/3 majority for a decade...
so revoking the emergency resolution CANNOT be done until Orbán gives the green light. Thanks to electoral law Fidesz authored, the governing party earns its supermajority (66%) with as little as 44% of the popular vote, giving it disproportionate (and total) power in Parliament.
The resolution remains in force only until the end of the state of emergency, Varga assures us. But the government decides when that will be, and therefore, when its decree powers will come to an end.
Varga and other govt officials claim that critics are "hysterical" and "haven't read the bill". We have read the bill. It's the government's record on political plurality and rule of law that make the bill worrisome.
Opposition parties offered to vote for this measure if it contained an expiration date, so most ppl understand that extraordinary measures are necessary to battle the pandemic. But govts with such a record shouldn't expect powers without limit will be handed over without a word.
Here's a rundown of the bill in detail: insighthungary.444.hu/2020/03/26/rul…
Minister Varga's op-ed: politico.eu/article/corona…
