Economy 23 March 2020, 9:28am

Hungarian government wants extended special powers to fight COVID-19

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The Hungarian government is asking Parliament to extend a state of emergency announced on 11 March to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Opposition parties have already signalled that they will not back the proposal that would give the cabinet excessive powers to suspend laws and pass decrees to keep the pandemic in check. The vote is expected to be held either today or on Tuesday.

Fighting the spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has already closed schools, cinemas, theatres, the borders to foreign citizens and limited the opening hours of stores, except for groceries, pharmacies, petrol stations and tobacco stores. (Given that COVID-19 goes for the lungs, often causing double pneumonia, if there is ever a good time to quit smoking, it is now!)

36 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection have been identified in Hungary since Sunday morning, the highest daily figure yet, bringing the total to 167. The death toll is now at seven after an elderly man succumbed to the virus on Sunday, following two other deaths earlier in the day.

Orbán declared a state of emergency on 11 March which was valid for 15 days and now he aims to extend it indefinitely.

Justice Minister Judit Varga submitted legislation to Parliament late on Friday that would impose prison sentences of up to five years on those hindering measures that are aimed at containing the spread of the virus and on those spreading false information.

The draft does not go into details, creating fears that it could enable the Orbán government, which in recent years itself has disseminated misleading information and attacked journalists, to decide what can be reported and what is true.

The bill would also make it possible to lock up anyone for up to eight years "who interferes with the operation of a quarantine or isolation order", which raises concerns over sweeping powers of the government to round up people, euobserver reported.

Under the extended state of crisis, the cabinet could create and keep in effect special decrees even if no more parliamentary sessions are held in the remainder of the year, or even beyond.

The special powers would allow the cabinet to "suspend the application of certain laws, derogate from legal provisions, and take extraordinary measures in the interest of guaranteeing the stabilisation of the lives, health, personal and material security of citizens, as well as the economy," according to bill submitted.

No one knows how long we have to maintain this state of crisis

, Reuters cited Máté Kocsis, head of the ruling Fidesz party’s parliamentary group, as telling private television HirTv.

He added that the government wants to pass the bill in an accelerated procedure, which needs support from 80% of lawmakers. He asked opposition parties to back the legislation.

The proposal raised concerns as it would give practically unlimited powers to the government without a clear timeframe, said think tank Political Capital.

There is no rational explanation in the current situation for the extension of the state of emergency indefinitely

, the liberal think tank said in a statement.

The bill stipulates the following:

The government may suspend the application of certain laws; it may diverge from legal provisions and create other extraordinary measures.
The government would provide information about the measures at the sessions of Parliament – or in the absence thereof – to the Speaker of Parliament and the leaders of the parliamentary groups.
The Constitutional Court will keep functioning during the state of crisis and its council may have its sittings via electronic communication means, if its President rules so.
Interim elections may not be held during a state of emergency.
Referendums may not be held during a state of emergency.
Parliament will decide on the expiry of this act once there is no longer a state of emergency.

The head of the Fidesz group said, if opposition parties do not support the quick vote, Parliament can debate it in an expedient process and vote on it in eight days. That vote would require only a two-thirds majority for the government to gain extraordinary powers, which Orbán holds in Parliament.

Opposition parties against 'dictator bill'

The Democratic Coalition (DK) said it will not vote in favour of the bill, and it is not in favour of an accelerated procedure, either. Csaba Molnár, managing Vice-President of DK said special legal order was introduced in 16 European Union member states, but none of these are in place indefinitely. In a democratic state it is unimaginable to declare a special legal order without limitations in time or content, he added.

DK said it would support the bill only on four conditions:

The extension should be granted by Parliament only for 15 days, and then reviewed.
The special powers may be used only to fight the coronavirus and mitigate its economic impacts.
Every parliamentary group leaders must be given the right to turn to the Constitutional Court and the court would need to rule within three days.
No amendments to the penal code will be supported that would curb the freedom of the press or that is aimed at silencing the independent media.

Tímea Szabó, faction leader of Párbeszéd (Dialogue) says people should be protected from the coronavirus and the rule of law must be protected from governmental abuses. She argues that the Fidesz party’s priority is overcoming the opposition rather than combating the virus. Governing by decree is something the party agrees with, but Szabó stressed no such unlimited powers have been requested by any EU government. If the European Parliament can vote online, so can Hungarian MPs, she added.

Párbeszéd is asking for a “sensible timeframe” for the special powers the government would gain, and also guarantee that the Constitutional Court will decide on disputed matters within three days. It also opposes the tightening of the criminal code, as scaremongering is already penalised, there is no need to tighten this rule.

The Socialist Party (MSZP) said it will not vote in favour of the bill, as it would “expose Hungary and the Hungarian people to the whim of Viktor Orbán indefinitely.”

Momentum also urges other opposition parties to reject the bill, saying special powers cannot be unlimited and cannot be granted for an unlimited period of time. Party President András Fekete-Győr said there should be reviews every 30 days whether the conditions still warrant the existence of the special powers. He also finds the section on the spread of fake news unacceptabe.

[Orbán] wants Parliament to pass a dictator bill on Tuesday. He wants to be the one personally to decide how long the special legal order and consequently his own mandate are in place

, he said in a statement.

The far-right Jobbik party agrees to the extension of the state of emergency but only for a limited period. President Péter Jakab said “there is no justification why we should give Viktor Orbán lifelong special powers. That one is called a kingdom.”

Cover photo: Getty Images