Published: 24.2.2020
It was exactly four years ago that bald thugs physically prevented István Nyakó from submitting a referendum on Sunday’s store closing on behalf of MSZP. So many outrageous things have happened since this event that this scene has obviously faded by now in the minds of people. However, it must continue to be a warning signal, a red flag, as his incident has clearly and unequivocally proven that Fidesz is capable of anything, considers every means permissible, and is not afraid to cross any legal or moral Rubicon. In fact, this scandal at the National Electoral Office did not happen out of the blue, either.Barely a year after it had come to power, Fidesz kicked the door down and made it clear that they would not give a damn about the law, morality or common law. It was a trifle, but it forecast all that was to come when they began their haughty, retaliation operations in 2011 by simply overtaking the Geographical Name Committee, after they disagreed with the renaming of Ferihegy Airport. They pushed the change through with force; those to resist were beheaded. Bam. We saw the same thing happening later with the infamous, horribly disgusting execution of the major circulation daily Népszabadság, on the grounds of lies. At the other extreme we see the same again in the children’s town of Fót, where for fear of Orbán’s National Cooperation System and overcompensation, the porcelain-spined management of the institute punished a boy in need of special care because in a song uploaded to the Internet he protested against the closure of the Children’s Town and the oligarchic government. I remind you of all of this, and I recall the images of István Nyakó and Fidesz’s hired bald men lined up against him, because we must not overlook any of these evil deeds. When MSZP courageously and consistently stood by the will of the people, and the orange power, as a last resort, sent thugs to physically prevent someone – in this case, my friend István Nyakó – from exercising his constitutional rights, it was the equivalent of shooting the Hungarian rule of law in the nape. I’m aware that the rule of law in this form does not move people all that much; (tragically, however) the hate propaganda on the posters provokes much more emotion among Hungarian citizens. Nonetheless, the event of four years ago must remain an important warning signal to all of us.
Especially now that the Fidesz government is asking people for their opinion on whether they like the content of a final court ruling in a publicly funded pseudo-consultation. Fidesz is merely announcing that legal security has now officially ended in Hungary. The ruling of independent courts will only be taken into account by the state authority when it pleases to do so. Ladies and gentlemen, this disgraceful step is a matter of principle, independent of the subject matter and content of the court ruling referred to in the pseudo-consultation, affecting the democratic system as such. I declare that where state-sent bouncers obstruct the constitutional exercise of law and where the cowardly president of the institution concerned (the National Electoral Office) who looked away can still remain in office, there is no legal security. However, where, in relation to the final court rulings, the government itself is organising a counter-campaign funded by public money and tries to exert pressure on the judiciary, there is ‘constitutional terror,’ if I may say so. And this is no joke. Look up the history books and see where nations concerned have been led by fascistoid state-building like this. The Duće had always failed in the end, of course, but a painful, burnt and bloody road led there that left serious damage behind.
dr. István Ujhelyi
Member of the European Parliament
23.02.2020