The right-wing majority in the Hungarian parliament has passed an urgent bill that promises the government more control in the cultural sphere. During the vote, several opposition members stood in front of the face with black theatrical masks, as shown by photos and a video by liberal MP Bence Tordai.
The new law provides for the creation of a National Cultural Council in Hungary, which will enable the government to "strategically direct cultural sectors". The government determines its leader. The committee will be responsible for the development and financial planning of 17 major cultural institutions, including the State Opera and the National Theater.
50,000 people sign online petition
In addition, when appointing directors of state-subsidized city theaters, municipalities must in future agree with the responsible minister. Until now, the municipalities alone have decided who directs the theaters they run.
On Monday, in the center of Budapest, several thousand citizens demonstrated against the law. They see in it a restriction of the freedom of art. More than 50,000 people signed an online petition against the law. Theater makers compared the planned measures with censorship during communism.
Reaction to election slag or abuse scandal?
Critics rate the law in response to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government's response to local elections in October, when Orbán's Fidesz party lost the capital Budapest and ten other cities to the opposition. The government, on the other hand, argues that structural reforms are a response to an abuse scandal in a popular Budapest theater.
Within the EU, Orban's Fidesz party is under pressure for a rule of law process. In the extreme case, the EU member state is threatened with the withdrawal of voting rights. Critics accuse Orbán of reducing democracy and increasingly authoritarian rule. Among other things, he reduced the media diversity, eliminated the autonomy of the universities and the Academy of Sciences and played to some of the national economy oligarchs.