The law on the effort to contain the coronavirus will remain in force as long as the state of danger prevails, Justice Minister Judit Varga said on Tuesday evening on the programme ‘Zeit im Bild’ of the Austrian national public service television news channel ORF.
In Europe we are facing a phenomenon which is affecting every country; every country is following the same pattern. They are introducing precautionary measures to protect people’s health and to conquer the economic consequences, Ms. Varga recalled. She argued that Parliament had greater powers than usual as it could revoke the authorisation given to the government and could repeal the containment law at any time. She stressed at the same time that objective factors will decide how long the state of danger prevails.
Ms. Varga dismissed criticisms levelled at the government as unfounded accusations. She pointed out that in Europe criticising Hungary has become something of a trend as the liberal mainstream that rules Western European media rejects politicians who disagree with them. She recalled that the Hungarian government had won a two-thirds majority in three consecutive free elections. At the same time, she stressed that Hungary holds conservative views on a number of important issues. “We are true Europeans, but critical ones, and they are attacking us because of this,” she added.
Regarding the passage of the law which lays down that some of those who are wilfully spreading lies during the state of danger could be punishable with imprisonment extending from one to five years, she said this draws attention to the fact that during an emergency everybody must remain disciplined. She stressed at the same time that in order for someone to be punished, they must intentionally state a fact they know to be untrue which could negatively affect the effectiveness of the precautionary measures. She also added that expression of opinion must be distinguished from claims known to be untrue. Any form of opinion expression does not fall into this category, including criticisms of the government, however harsh they may be, she pointed out. Ms. Varga also highlighted that the Constitution lays down when elections must be held, and it cannot be repealed by any other legislation. Therefore, in 2022 there will be elections in Hungary, the new law has nothing to do with that, she pointed out.
On Monday, Parliament passed the law on the effort to contain the coronavirus epidemic which allows the government to adopt extraordinary measures in departure from the laws in force in the interest of people’s health, legal security and the stability of the economy. Parliament voted for provisions of Ms. Varga’s proposal requiring a two-thirds majority with 137 votes for and 53 against in an urgent procedure. The law contains specific rules related to the state of danger declared due to the coronavirus epidemic.