Democracy in the News – Hungarian Constitution
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16387117
This situation, in my opinion, goes to show how liberal democracy is the first victim of any sort of crisis. In this case, the Hungarian Fidesz Party has passed a new constitution which lifts some of the checks and balances which are typical and necessary for a liberal democracy. Apparently it also rewrites electoral formulae in a way which benefits the Fidesz Party, increasing their chances of being re-elected.
The governing party holds 68% of the house, but recent polls have put their approval ratings at a mere 18%. Demonstrations have been popping up in Hungary on a range of issues relating to the people’s non confidence in the party, the new constitution only being the most recent.
The party was elected during the beginning of the financial crisis on promises to ‘create a million workplaces’ but so far has produced next to no growth. It is only the latest in the trend where people are willing to elect non-democratic parties during a crisis, and are willing to risk democratic freedom to alleviate some sort of economic woes. The prototypical example of course being interwar Germany and their election of the National Socialist Party. This is an important trend to analyze when studying democracy and its viability. It would seem that democracy works best when things are going smoothly, but when things go wrong, it becomes a luxury that is often sacrificed for ‘the greater good’. The situation in Hungary is an extension of this. The financial crisis has caused people to invest their hopes in a fringe party, with less than democratic ideals, in the hope that it can improve their economic situation.