The coronavirus dominates news coverage around the world, including at The Battalion – and rightly so. However, the world has not completely stopped, and some critical events have happened over the past week that have largely flown under the radar.
Hungary’s continued democratic backsliding
Hungary has been an outlier within the European Union for the last few years, becoming increasingly less democratic. But this past week, the country’s long-serving and controversial prime minister, Viktor Orban, took his authoritarian-style policies to a new level, as his rubber-stamp parliament approved rule-by-decree for an indefinite period of time. This means that Orban’s government can suspend certain laws, not hold elections, and jail those accused of publicizing “untrue or distorted facts.” These measures have faced severe criticism from the European Union, the United Nations and the Council of Europe, as well as Hungarian opposition politicians and civil society. Many experts view Orban’s actions as a blatant power grab, done under the guise of emergency measures to combat COVID-19. Additionally, it is very difficult for there to be any official sanction of Hungary. While the European Union is attempting to do so, Hungary’s pseudo-democratic ally Poland will veto any sanctions – which need unanimity to be passed. Orban and his allies are using the pandemic to deflect any criticism, claiming that those who oppose his measures do not care about the virus’ spread and do not take its threat seriously.
Venezuelan leader indicted
Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s putative president (opposition Juan Guaido has claimed the presidency after fraudulent elections and is recognized by many countries, including the United States), has been charged with drug trafficking in American courts. Maduro is accused of importing hundreds of tons of cocaine to the U.S. as a senior member, and eventual leader, of the Cartel de Los Soles. His corruption and involvement in narco-terrorism goes back over a decade. He is accused of being paid $5 million by FARC, a Colombian guerrilla and drug trafficking group, upon being named Venezuelan Foreign Minister, and of continuously using his power to enrich himself and colleagues and ensure illegal drug transactions could take place smoothly – even after he became president. While there is little disagreement that Maduro deserves the charges levied against him, many believe his indictment will make it harder to remove him from power.
U.K. Labour chooses new leader
The United Kingdom’s Labour Party, one of the dominant parties in that country’s politics, has chosen a new leader after the resignation of its controversial former headman, the socialist firebrand Jeremy Corbyn. Keir Starmer, the new leader, won the position on Saturday with a comfortable majority and will take the party in a decidedly different direction than Corbyn. A former public prosecutor and human rights lawyer, Starmer comes from Labour’s moderate wing and is widely expected to move the party closer to the center of the political spectrum, after Corbyn took Labour on a hard left turn. How Starmer’s time as leader will unfold may depend on events outside of his control – with COVID-19 dominating Britain politically, economically and socially, he will have difficulty differentiating himself from Prime Minister Boris Johnson – but could stand to benefit if Johnson is seen to bungle the response to the virus.