Yesterday, a historical debate took place in the European Parliament. The core of the debate centred on the new legal order in Hungary and its compatibility with the European Treaties. Liberals, Socialists, Greens and the United Left were attacking the policies of Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party. What struck the mind was that rightwing parties were calling the criticism a conspiracy theory of the left media against Hungary. In their view there was nothing wrong with the recent legal changes in Hungary. Besides raising their voices and attacking the left, no substantive arguments against the critics could be observed. Two observations should be made. 1.) Democracy is vulnerable when 1 party holds the absolute majority and 2.) In times of economic turmoil, the protection of democratic values is more important than ever. 

It was this Monday that Viktor Orban announced to address the European Parliament on the Hungarian legislation. Being sick and tired of the international criticism, Orban used the European stage to defend his policies. According to Orban, his critics failed to understand the deplorable situation Hungary found itself in before the landslide victory of Fidesz. Having been ruled by Communists, Hungarian citizens needed to take their fate back into their own hands. Hence, the new constitution and cardinal laws that brought back the power to the people. In analogy of Louis XIV's "l'Etat, c'est moi", Orban seems to say: "le peuple, c'est moi".

The European Commission, not convinced by Orban's political rhetoric, started an infringement procedure against Hungary. It has doubts on the new legislation concerning the central bank, the judiciary and the data protection authority. What was crucial in the Commission's statements was that more concerns existed, even though these fell outside the scope of EU law. President Barroso openly sympathises with the Council of Europe, which has cast serious concerns over Hungarian legislation that touch upon fundamental rights in Hungary. 

The Hungarian Fidesz party and prime minister Orban used very weak arguments in their defence. They stressed their Communist past and the fact that their constitution has been changed to get rid of this horrible history. They were demanding from the international community to support them and fight communism with them. However, these historical references have nothing to do with the current situation and are used as a smoke curtain for what is really going on.

Hungary has one party that controls two third of the parliament, a unique situation in the history of the European Union. The party is trying to silence critical remarks towards their policies by politically occupying independent institutions. All official international bodies have been condemning key changes in the Hungarian legislation. To name a few: the ECB, EC, IMF, US state department, OSCE, Council of Europe, the German chancellor, NGO's and Hungarian citizens. Not a single argument has been given to counter any of these concerns. Everyone is crazy, except the Hungarian government. 

Of course, you can write on paper that the judiciary is independent. But if you subsequently replace a big chunk of the judges, independence is at stake. You can also write in the constitution that the media is independent; but if in practice political appointees are firing journalists that are criticizing Fidesz, independence is nothing more than an empty word. The same counts for the independence of the Hungarian central bank. Fidesz fails to understand the implications of its policies and the importance of independence from political control. A lawful regime needs an independent judiciary to assure minorities, majorities, individuals and even criminal defendants that rulers will not oppress them. Even the assumption that this is not guaranteed leads to insecurity, or worse. 

Fidesz is not living up to its responsibilities as the omnipotent party in Hungary. It abuses its power by occupying independent institutions in Hungary, thereby consolidating its position and extending its mandate. As always there are people claiming that nothing is happening and that this is democracy in its purest form. Legally and theoretically this could be an interesting debate. However, we are dealing with reality here. It's about the interpretation of the European treaties and international law. What Hungary fails to understand, is that democracy has its limits, especially when one political party won a two third majority. 

What is currently at stake is not only about Hungary. It is about the way Member States interpret European values. Values which bind us and give us a common identity. Although Europe became the story of the single market, the EU has first of all been about the protection of citizens against a too dominant and powerful political state. Fidesz has radically changed Hungary and seems to have as its main objective to take over the country. In times of economic crisis, this process can be very dangerous. Let's thus not look away.