Hungary should no longer be considered a democracy after an unprecedented consolidation of power by the European Union member’s leader, according to an annual survey of countries that once lay behind the Iron Curtain.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s dismantling of checks and balances over the past decade, including a decision to indefinitely rule by decree triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, pushed the nation into the "hybrid regime” category between democracies and autocracies, according to a report published Wednesday by Freedom House, a Washington D.C.-based rights group.
While Hungary posted the biggest decline since Freedom House started compiling its "Nations in Transit” report, it reflected a wider trend of weakening commitment to democracy across the 29 formerly communist countries.