Today is the day an EU member state becomes a full-on dictatorship, as Viktor Orbán will seize unlimited power in Hungary.
bit.ly/2WQWnRZ
bit.ly/2WQWnRZ
This follows years of his ruling party, Fidesz, undermining free media & independent courts, crushing academic freedom & literally starving people in state custody.
There's no surprise he's doing this now. The warning signs have been there for ages.
There's no surprise he's doing this now. The warning signs have been there for ages.
For years, the EU has mostly stood by & let Hungary become more and more authoritarian.
Orbán's @epp allies, especially @ManfredWeber & @donaldtuskEPP, supported his ambitions nearly every step of the way.
Orbán's @epp allies, especially @ManfredWeber & @donaldtuskEPP, supported his ambitions nearly every step of the way.
The new law will be a disaster for freedom of speech in particular in Hungary, with jail terms of up to 5 years for spreading anything the ruling party labels "misinformation."
Orbán already has the mass media under his control, of course.
Orbán already has the mass media under his control, of course.
And as Orbán seizes unlimited power, let's never forget just how extremist his views are...
Groups like @amnesty and @hrw have been calling out Hungary’s slide to authoritarian rule for years, which is why state media, under strict ruling-party control, censors us there.
amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
#COVID19:
There's a huge difference between…
✅ responsible governments enacting temporary, science-based measures to protect public health while respecting human rights, and
❌ authoritarian-minded politicians using this crisis to grab more power.
hrw.org/news/2020/03/1…
There's a huge difference between…
✅ responsible governments enacting temporary, science-based measures to protect public health while respecting human rights, and
❌ authoritarian-minded politicians using this crisis to grab more power.
hrw.org/news/2020/03/1…
It is done.
How can the EU ever recover from its long series of mistakes that led to this point?
Now that a member state leader is seizing unlimited power in his country, how can the EU act decisively to regain its reputation as a community of democracies?
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Now that a member state leader is seizing unlimited power in his country, how can the EU act decisively to regain its reputation as a community of democracies?
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
"...a state of emergency – wherever it is declared and for whatever reason – must be proportionate to its aim, and only remain in place for as long as absolutely necessary." - @odihrdirector
Final word to my colleague, @LydsG
