The government has submitted an amendment proposal that would exclude protests from the most important, symbolic public squares of Budapest during national holidays. Furthermore, it would empower local governments to remove further areas a no-protest zone.

The Ministry of Human Resources might withdraw funding from the National Society of Student and Youth Journalists (DUE Médiahálózat), as the magazine interviewed experts on a topic that could affect every youth: the legalization of marihuana. The fact that a well-balanced, objective and unbiased article about a relevant drugs policy issue concerning many countries could not be published is a serious symptom of the state of the democratic discourse that with state funding.

The Punitive State: if you can’t solve it, ban it!

Whenever there’s public dissent or the government finds no solution to a social problem, governments of the Fidesz party resorts to prohibition or punishment. Harassment and discrimination of the homeless has been ongoing for long, but this new level of persecution of homelessness began at the time of the second Fidesz government and has continuously been on Fidesz’s agenda ever since. In summer 2018, the two third majority of the parliament banned homelessness in the whole country, making the lives of one of the most vulnerable social groups even harder. The Law on Petty Offences was modified along the seventh amendment to the Fundamental Law, which enters into force on 15th October 2018.

The Government filed on 26 June a proposal that concerns the protection of private life according to its title. The proposal is odd, since it rarely has any new normative content. Therefore, it is questionable, what the legislator intends with it.

The government has already banned homelessness, now only poverty, unemployment, smoking, alcoholism, illness, disabilities and crime remain – the government should ban them, and heaven on Earth would surely ensue.

After Fidesz’ overwhelming electoral victory in April 2018, many observers believed Prime Minister Orbán would curb his voracious appetite for turning Hungary into an illiberal state. These expectations were grievously miscalculated.