When I started this passion thread, I told you that the reason I wanted to highlight news from lesser-known countries around the world is that my father is from Hungary, a country that is very often overlooked itself. So, it seemed appropriate to put the focus for my last passion blog on the news currently coming out of Hungary.
First, some background on the country. The Hungarians (Magyars) were a nomadic tribe that settled in the area that is now Hungary in the 10th century, and officially became a country in the year 1000 A.D. While they were at one time a military force (Hungary was at one point larger than modern-day Germany), they have over the past half-millennium been conquered by the Austrians, Turks, Nazis, and most recently were a puppet nation of the USSR, behind the iron curtain before it fell in 1991.
Since then, the country has struggled somewhat to find its new identity, after 50 years of Nazi and Communist rule. Unfortunately, the country’s problems have become worse over the past three years, since it elected the far-right Fidesz party, led by P.M. Viktor Orban, into power in 2010. The party, which holds a supermajority in the Hungarian Parliament, immediately passed a new constitution, claiming that old one still had remnants of the country’s communist past.
The new constitution had come under harsh fire from both Hungarians and members of the international community. The new constitution would extend the terms of some of the key government leaders (specifically, the ministers in charge of the country’s media, budget, and judiciary) to guaranteed nine year terms. This means that these officials, who were put into power by the Fidesz government, cannot be removed from their positions if the party loses the next election. The new constitution also redrew the districting lines in a way that strongly favors the Fidesz party (although that should be nothing new to Americans).
Most recently, the Fidesz party has proposed new amendments to its new constitution, which have received even more criticism from the EU. One provision would only allow candidates for public office to campaign using public media (which, if you’ll remember, will be controlled by Fidesz for the next 9 years). Another clause would make the court system inferior to the government, which many fear would eliminate the balance of power necessary for a democracy. The EU is currently investigating these provisions, and is considering bringing judicial action against Hungary.
All of these political changes come as the Fidesz party has begun to use increasingly Anti-Semetic and Anti-Roma (gypsy) rhetoric that many fear is an indication that the country may revert to authoritarian Nazi-type rule. Hopefully, many are wrong.
