Hungary's ‘State of Danger’ Will Save Millions of People from the Coronavirus

Reuters
April 17, 2020 Topic: Security Region: Europe Tags: CoronavirusPandemicPoliticsGovernmentHungary

Hungary's ‘State of Danger’ Will Save Millions of People from the Coronavirus

The emergency power that was announced now in Hungary is called a “state of danger.” It is a specialized emergency power designed especially to deal with natural or industrial disasters. A pandemic like the coronavirus clearly falls into the category of natural disasters, which is why the “state of danger” was used in preference to one of the other five provisions for emergency powers.

So the last thing we need—as we all try to battle the virus to protect our people from its cruelties and preserve our economies—is unfounded political hysteria. We are tired of pointless debates, baseless political accusations, and hypocritical lectures. Our primary concern and responsibility must be the protection of human lives. The measures adopted by the Hungarian government and its neighbors are doing just that in a proportionate and limited way. Those measures are political medicine. Perhaps they’re not very pleasant to take but they are likely to cure the body politic. And despite what some doctors of philosophy claim, there’s an end-date stamped on the prescription. 

Balázs Orbán is the deputy minister of the prime minister’s office in Hungary. This essay reflects his personal opinions.

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