Orban May Give Up Emergency Powers in June, Minister Says

(Bloomberg) --

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban may cede his emergency powers as soon as next month, a senior minister said, a sign that the government may be moving to address a wave of criticism.

Orban acquired the right to rule by decree indefinitely in late March, arguing he needed to do so to fight the coronavirus. But critics said it raised concerns about the future of democracy in the European Union member state after a decade of power consolidation by the self-styled illiberal leader.

“If the situation doesn’t change significantly, then the government may return its emergency powers stemming from the state of danger in June, probably end-June,” Minister in Charge of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyas told a televised briefing Thursday. He announced a further easing of virus-related measures in the countryside, including lifting restrictions on hotels and restaurants next week.

The European Parliament also devoted an hour of debate Thursday to concerns about Hungary’s emergency measures.

“In the EU, we’re now entering a new phase where certain measures taken to protect public health will be gradually relaxed,” European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova told the assembly. “This new phase means that the general states of emergency with exceptional powers granted to governments should gradually be removed or be replaced with more targeted and less intrusive measures.”

Hungarian Detentions

Hungary’s decree-rule is in line with EU norms and doesn’t threaten fundamental rights, freedom of speech or the ability of the media to report, Justice Minister Judit Varga wrote in a Facebook post. At the same time, she said Hungary’s government is committed to fighting what it says is the spread of disinformation.

In late March, when parliament granted emergency powers to Orban, ruling party lawmakers also approved changes to the criminal code, allowing authorities to jail people for up to five years for “distorting” facts in a way that’s deemed to hamper the virus fight.

“Nobody believes that spreading lies is part of freedom of expression, especially as it concerns the fight against the virus,” Varga said.

Authorities have started 86 criminal probes for alleged scaremongering, and there are signs that some of these may also be politically motivated. On Wednesday, the opposition Momentum party said that one of its supporters had been briefly detained after a Facebook post sharing details about an anti-government protest.

A day earlier, another man was detained and his house searched after a Facebook post that questioned Orban’s intentions about relaxing the lockdown just as the government said the virus had plateaued in Hungary. He also called the prime minister a “dictator.”

Hungary’s restrictions “may have a chilling effect on freedom of expression,” Jourova told the European Parliament. “These particular concerns come in a well-known context in Hungary as regards to the rule of law and respect for EU values.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.