As we all face the most serious pandemic in a century, when governments everywhere are battling an unknown enemy and doing our best to protect the population against the spread of the virus and to save lives – I guess I hoped that this time we’d see a little more solidarity, Zoltán Kovács stressed.

In his Thursday blog post published on the English-language website abouthungary.hu, the Minister of State for International Communication and Relations stated his opinion regarding the criticisms levelled at the government’s proposed coronavirus containment bill. He concluded that these vociferous criticisms come as nothing new, but are disappointing and pathetic nonetheless.

He then listed all the criticisms levelled at the government in the past ten years. He recalled, for instance, that in 2011 critics declared “the death of press freedom”, spoke about “the dawn of a new era of censorship”, and expressed concerns about the independence of the judiciary, and checks and balances.

The Minister of State also referred to criticisms levelled at the amendment of the Constitution, in particular concerns over human rights, the separation of powers and mention of Hungary’s Christian identity. Mr Kovács quoted a number of phrases customarily used by critics of the government’s policies such as “Hungary is no longer a democracy”. He also mentioned that in 2013 German playwright Klaus Pierwoss published a letter entitled “Stiftet Aufruhr!” – “Give  rise to revolt!”, signed by forty intellectuals from Austria and other countries in Europe, which described Hungary as “a rotting core”.

The Minister of State recalled that in 2014 in the press the greatest excitement was aroused by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán having coined the term “illiberal democracy” in Tusnádfürdő. Critics cried “this was surely the end!”. Of those who have cited the prime minister’s reference to illiberal democracy as iron-clad proof of his alleged authoritarian tendencies, how many read the speech, the Minister of State asked in his blog post.

Mr Kovács next recalled the 2015 migrant crisis, and that the government erected a fence to protect Europe’s Schengen Area against illegal immigrants. At the time, critics cried this “brings up memories of our Continent's darkest period”.

“Every year we’ve faced charges of anti-Semitism from critics who have no clue what the Orbán Governments have done to support the Jewish community in Hungary,” Mr Kovács wrote, taking the view that those charges hit fever pitch in 2018 when the ruling party’s campaign dared to push back at a political opponent named George Soros.

In light of these reactions, according to the Minister of State, no one should be surprised at the outrageous claims published this week in connection with a law the government proposed in Parliament for the introduction of further measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic. Claims included, he recalled, that “Hungarian journalists could end up spending several years in jail”.

In his English-language post, Mr Kovács highlighted that we have been through a decade of this malicious and inaccurate reporting on Hungary. Meanwhile, here at home, we still have a democracy, free media, and prior to the present coronavirus crisis, one of the strongest economies in the EU.

After what we have seen over the last ten years, I guess I should not have been surprised, Mr Kovács wrote. At the same time, he pointed out that as we all face the most serious pandemic in a century, when governments everywhere are battling an unknown enemy and doing our best to protect the population against the spread of the virus and to save lives, we should see a little more solidarity.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)