Here are the bare facts about the passage of the “Stop Soros” legislative package and the 7th amendment to the Hungarian constitution. There was never any doubt that whatever the government decided to include in the omnibus bill on the constitutional amendments would easily pass, given the government parties’ super majority in the House. The same was true about the “Stop Soros” bill.
Starting with the amendments. Members of the Fidesz-KDNP and Jobbik delegations, Dóra Dúró (formerly Jobbik but now an independent MP), and the representative of the German minority–159 all told–voted for the bill. Five MPs voted against it: four members of Párbeszéd and Ákos Hadházy, formerly of LMP but as of today an independent member of parliament. Anett Bősz (independent, earlier a member of the Párbeszéd caucus) and members of LMP and MSZP were in the chamber but didn’t vote. Members of DK were not even present because in their opinion both the “Stop Soros” bill and the amendments “go counter to the respect for fundamental human rights, our Christian culture, and the foundations of our very being as Hungarians. According to DK, neither as civilized Europeans nor as Hungarian patriots can we take part in this shameful crime against Hungary.”
Here is a brief description of the effect of the constitutional amendment. (1) continued struggle against immigration by forbidding settlement of foreigners in the country en masse; (2) protection of Christian culture by state organs; (3) limiting of the freedom of assembly by defending the private and family lives of others; (4) proscription of homelessness; and (5) establishment of a network of “administrative courts” to handle legal disputes between individuals and the administration. This also means that it will not be the Kúria, the highest court of the land, that will have the final say in such cases. When it came to the “Stop Soros” bill, Fidesz-KDNP-Jobbik voted as a bloc, but instead of 5 nays, 18 left-of-center opposition members voted against the bill. Others present didn’t vote.
András Murányi, the last editor-in-chief of Népszabadság, called these two bills “the most perfidious, most cynical, most mendacious bill and constitutional amendments of recent decades, which recall the horrible spirit of ages past.” As for the 25% extra levy on those involved with immigration, András Jámbor of Mérce called it a “tax on opinions different from those of Fidesz.” Who is liable? “Every program, action, activity that directly or indirectly promotes immigration.” These activities are: media campaigns, media seminars, networking and its maintenance, and showing immigration in a positive light if that takes place in an organized fashion. So, if taken at face value, a small contribution to any charitable organization involved with refugees may be interpreted as “support of immigration.”
I wonder whether the decision to pass these bills on June 20 was a way of making an anti-migrant statement on World Refugee Day. Knowing Viktor Orbán, I wouldn’t be at all surprised. On a day that The Guardian printed a list of 34,361 refugees known to have died trying to make it to Europe, Fidesz celebrated the passage of these horrendous bills.
I have the feeling that although these two pieces of legislation sailed through, this is not quite the end of the story. I found a mysterious sentence in BBC’s report on the parliamentary vote. “A report by the Council’s Venice Commission leaked to the BBC said the Hungarian legislation ‘criminalizes organizational activities which are not directly related to the materialization of the illegal migration.’” Thus, it is unconstitutional and, according to democratic norms, unacceptable. We will see what else we will learn from the report, which will be released on Friday.
Earlier I alluded to the fact that Ákos Hadházy, formerly co-chair of LMP, today announced his decision to quit the party but to remain a member of parliament as an independent. I’m sure that everybody remembers that, after the lost election, differences of opinions led to a physical encounter that resulted in Hadházy’s suffering a mild concussion. The man responsible for the accident/assault was expelled from the party while Hadházy, along with a score of other party leaders, had to face “ethical investigations.” Hadházy was found guilty. He was stripped of all his party functions for two years, but rumor had it that at the second stage of the procedure the “punishment” would likely have been doubled. At this point Hadházy felt that he had no choice but to leave the party in order to continue his work unearthing the government corruption that engulfs the whole country.
Ákos Hadházy / MTI / Photo: Zoltán Balogh
Hadházy’s weekly “corruption infos” have been extremely effective. He and his team have gone after cases in which corrupt government officials and politicians, together with entrepreneurs close to Fidesz, embezzled millions if not billions of euros provided by the European Union as part of the convergence program. Admittedly, the corrupt head of the public prosecutor’s office was almost never willing to investigate Hadházy’s cases, but at least the public learned details about hundreds of such cases. Although András Schiffer, the founder of the party who is no friend of Hadházy, belittled the importance of Hadházy’s work, many people are convinced that LMP’s slight bump in popularity was largely due to Hadházy’s efforts. Because of LMP’s refusal to cooperate with others in the election campaign, the party has lost many of its voters since April, and Hadházy’s departure, I’m sure, will further shake faith in the party.
Hadházy insists that he will continue his work in parliament as an independent and will seek allies from outside the parliamentary building. Bertalan Tóth already announced that MSZP is ready to receive anyone who is serious about removing Viktor Orbán from office. I also assume that Hadházy is in touch with Péter Márki-Zay, mayor of Hódmezővásárhely, who received help from András Horváth, the whistle blower of the Hungarian Tax Office, who is also involved with Hadházy’s project. Thus, I’m sure that Hadházy will create his own circle of influence, which may even include some like-minded politicians. The first such group that comes to mind is the Párbeszéd parliamentary caucus.
But for the time being the focus of attention will shift from domestic to European affairs, which will include the European Union’s reaction to the “Stop Soros” package and the amendments to the constitution. All this in a turbulent and worrisome political climate worldwide.