Second Orbán Government
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The second government of
Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...
or the Government of National Cooperation (in Hungarian: ''A Nemzeti Együttműködés Kormánya'') was the
Government of Hungary The Government of Hungary () exercises executive (government), executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of public administration. The Pr ...
from 29 May 2010 to 6 June 2014. Orbán formed his second cabinet after his party,
Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal. Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...
won the outright majority in the first round on April 11, with the Fidesz-KDNP alliance winning 206 seats, including 119 individual seats. In the final result, they won 263 seats (
qualified majority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fund ...
), of which 173 are individual seats. Fidesz held 227 of these seats, giving it an outright majority in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
by itself.


History


2010

The results of the 2009 European Parliamentary election foreshadowed a decisive Fidesz victory in the 2010 parliamentary elections. Finally, Fidesz won the outright majority in the first round on 11 April, winning 206 seats, including all 119 individual seats. After the second round of the elections they won a total of 263 seats in the parliament (out of 386), which was enough to change the
Hungarian constitution The Fundamental Law of Hungary (), the country's constitution, was adopted by parliament on 18 April 2011, promulgated by the president a week later and entered into force on 1 January 2012. It is Hungary's first constitution adopted within a demo ...
. The sixth national assembly of the "III. Hungarian Republic" was established on 14 May 2010. The new cabinet began working on legislation even before its inauguration. The representatives then accepted a bill of
dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...
, granting Hungarian citizenship to every Hungarian in the
Carpathian basin The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...
and around the world, aimed at offsetting the harmful effects of the
Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...
, and sparking a controversy between Hungary and
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. Though
János Martonyi János Martonyi (born in Kolozsvár, Hungary (today Cluj-Napoca, Romania), 5 April 1944) is a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2002 and from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Fidesz – Hungarian ...
, the new foreign minister, visited his Slovak colleague to discuss the issue of dual citizenship,
Robert Fico Robert Fico (; born 15 September 1964) is a Slovak politician who has served as the prime minister of Slovakia since 2023. He previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. He founded the left-wing political party D ...
stated that since Fidesz and the new government were not willing to negotiate the issue, which would be viewed as a question of national security.
Ján Slota Ján Slota (born 14 September 1953) is the co-founder and former president of the Slovak National Party,Slovak National Party The Slovak National Party (, SNS) is an ultranationalist political party in Slovakia. The party characterizes itself as a nationalist party based on both social and European Christian values. Since 1990 SNS has won seats in every Slovak pa ...
, expressed his fear that Hungary wants to attack Slovakia and considered the situation as the "beginning of a war". As Prime Minister designate, Viktor Orbán firmly stated that he considers Slovak hysteria part of a political campaign. In response to the change in Hungarian citizenship law, the
National Council of the Slovak Republic The National Council of the Slovak Republic (, abbreviated to ''NR SR'') is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameralism, unicameral and consists of 150 members, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation ...
approved on 26 May 2010 a law stating that if a Slovak citizen applies for citizenship of another country then that person will automatically lose his/her Slovakian citizenship. Orbán took the oath of office on 29 May 2010. With 261 votes, the Hungarian Parliament accepted him as leader of the ninth government since the end of communism. The opposition parties (MSZP,
Jobbik The Jobbik – Movement for a Better Hungary (, ), commonly known as Jobbik (), and previously known as Conservatives () between 2023 and 2024, is a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Hungary, political party in Hungary. Ori ...
and
Politics Can Be Different Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...
) did not accept the cabinet's program (107 votes). Orbán's first international visit was to
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, as a symbol of establishing a central European alliance. Polish-Hungarian friendship has a long historical tradition. In the autumn of 2010, Parliament passed a new media bill, setting up a new media council. The members of the council were accused of being biased, since all members were elected by the two-thirds parliamentary majority. Their – factually non-existent – authority to supervise media, issue decrees, and issue fines of up to 200 million forints was also questioned, though all decisions of the council can be appealed at an independent court. Since 2010, these allegations are kept on board persistently. The leader of the council,
Annamária Szalai Annamária Szalai (16 September 1961 – 12 April 2013) was a Hungarian journalist, politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Zala County, Fidesz (1998–2004). She became a member of the National Radio and Television Commission (ORTT) in 2004, an ...
reacted to these allegations that neither the media bill nor other Hungarian regulations have given such competencies to the media authority. Still, the bill was widely criticized as jeopardizing
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
in Hungary, however no specific provisions were named. The
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
criticized Orbán's second cabinet for its lack of compliance with economic deficit goals in 2010 and 2011, the nationalization of the country's compulsory
private pension A private pension is a plan into which individuals privately contribute from their earnings, which then will pay them a pension after retirement. It is an alternative to the state pension. Usually, individuals invest funds into saving schemes or m ...
scheme and the cutting of the salary of state employees to a maximum of 2 million Hungarian forints (6.700 Euro) per month, including the Hungarian National Bank's director, claiming the government potentially undermined the independence of that institution.


2011

In the first four months of the year, Hungary's new constitution was created.


2012

As a part of the reform of the
higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
, the cabinet reassessed the financing of the universities and high schools. The cabinet intended ceasing to fund certain disciplines, and also changed the conditions of the state subsidies of the higher education: "according to the new rules, a student accepting Hungarian state-funded support to pay for university study must sign an agreement to work in Hungary for a certain period of time within 20 years after graduation". The government officials declared that this a counter-measure against the brain drain phenomenon. According to the deputy state secretary, Ferenc Kumin "The idea behind requiring students to stay and work in Hungary is that if the state paid for their education then it's reasonable to expect that they'll apply their new skills here in Hungary for a period of time." The cabinet cut back the budget of the universities as well, and in order to supervise their expenditures, the government vindicated the right to appoint
bursar A bursar (derived from ''wikt:bursa, bursa'', Latin for 'Coin purse, purse') is a professional Administrator of the government, administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usual ...
s. These measures were seen by the opposition parties and some professors as an effort to bring down the financial autonomy of the universities. Against these reforms, a sequence of demonstrations began. After a series of negotiations with the protesters, secretary of state responsible for the education,
Rózsa Hoffmann Dr. Rózsa Hoffmann (born 22 January 1948) is a Hungary, Hungarian politician and educator, Secretary of State for Education of the Ministry of National Resources from 2 June 2010 to 27 February 2013. She was appointed Secretary of State for Pub ...
, was degraded to the rank of under-secretary of public education, and a new under-secretary of higher-education, István Klinghammer was appointed. The government also modified the previously introduced laws - since then it is possible to receive state scholarship in every subject, the number of bourses was increased and instead of contracts, the students have to sign a declaration stating that within 10 or 12 years after graduation, students that studied in state-funded places will be expected to work at Hungarian companies for the same length of time they had spent in state-financed higher education. Failing to do this, they will be expected to pay back the cost of their studies calculated at a rate that takes into consideration yearly inflation but will be interest-free.


2013


International criticism of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution

On 1 March 2013,
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
international
constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
scholar, Hungary-specialist and political activist Kim Lane Scheppele wrote in a blog entry that the Hungarian ruling party's supermajority is re-introducing in one "mega-amendment" multiple
constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
amendments which had been introduced before and nullified by the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
or changed at the insistence of European bodies. In his opinion the new constitutional mega-amendment again puts an end to the independence of the judiciary, brings universities under still more governmental control, opens the door to political prosecutions, criminalizes homelessness, makes the recognition of religious groups dependent on their cooperation with the government and weakens human rights guarantees across the board. In addition, the constitution will now buffer the government from further financial sanctions by permitting it to pass on all fines for noncompliance with the constitution or with European law to the Hungarian population as special taxes, not payable by the normal state budget. The mega-amendment annuls all of the decisions made by the Court before 1 January 2012 so that they have no legal effect. Henceforth no longer can anyone in the country – neither the Constitutional Court, nor the ordinary courts, nor human rights groups nor ordinary citizens – rely on the Court's prior string of rights-protecting decisions. On 5 March 2013, Michael Link, the (liberal) undersecretary in the
German Foreign Ministry The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with the European Union. It is a cabinet-level ...
, in ''"Hungary must remain a country of the law,''" called on Hungary "to demonstrate that the country has an effective separation of power between the legislative and the judicial." On 6 March 2013, Europe's main
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
watchdog,
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
President Thorbjorn Jagland (social democrat), said that the amendments set to be voted on next week by Hungarian lawmakers may be incompatible with European legal principles and asked the government to postpone the approval of a series of constitutional amendments, so legal experts can review the changes. On 8 March 2013, the government of the United States raised its concerns both about the content of the proposed amendments "as they could threaten the principles of institutional independence and checks and balances that are the hallmark of democratic governance" and about the process by which they were to be accepted: " he USA"urges the Government of Hungary and the Parliament to ensure that the process of considering amendments to the constitution demonstrates respect for the rule of law and judicial review, openness to the views of other stakeholders across Hungarian society, and continuing receptiveness to the expertise of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
's
Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...
." On that same day, in a letter to the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
,
Guido Westerwelle Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as foreign minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay perso ...
, the German foreign minister, and counterparts in
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
called for the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
to be given new powers allowing it to freeze EU budget funds to a member state in breach of Europe's "fundamental values." Likewise on the same day,
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
President
José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...
expressed concerns about the government over the amendment vote in Hungary's parliament the following week to change the constitution, arguing that it contravenes EU rules in areas such as the judiciary. On the 11th of March, "Hungary's parliament, dominated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party, adopted changes to the country's constitution on Monday despite warnings from the European Union and the U.S. government that the changes could weaken Hungary's democracy. The legislation was supported by 265 lawmakers in the 386-seat chamber, with 11 votes against and 33 abstentions." Critiques have also been made in the official working documents of the European Parliament and by the Venice Commission on Hungary. The June 2013 report of the European Commission on the Hungarian Constitution, the Tavares Report urged the Hungarian authorities "to implement as swiftly as possible all the measures the European Commission as the guardian of the treaties deems necessary in order to fully comply with EU law… nd withthe decisions of the Hungarian Constitutional Court and... the recommendations of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe and other international bodies…". In November 2013, Professor Scheppele outlined systemic infringement procedures the European Commission can use when member states violate basic principles of the European Union.


Government responses to critics

On 7 March, Deputy Prime Minister
Tibor Navracsics Tibor Navracsics (born 13 June 1966) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade from June to September 2014. He previously served as Minister of Administration and Justice between 2010 and 2014. H ...
sent a letter to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland, to give some additional written explanations to the Proposal on the Fourth Amendment to Fundamental Law of Hungary. On the 8th of March, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
János Martonyi János Martonyi (born in Kolozsvár, Hungary (today Cluj-Napoca, Romania), 5 April 1944) is a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2002 and from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Fidesz – Hungarian ...
sent letter to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of EU-member states, in which he gave details on the text of the amendment. 14 March, during a press conference in Brussels, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Budapest was ready to explain all the constitutional changes made by the Parliament. He also challenged critics to produce evidence of breaching the
acquis communautaire The Community acquis or ''acquis communautaire'' (; ), sometimes called the EU acquis, and often shortened to acquis, is the accumulated legislation, legal acts and court decisions that constitute the body of European Union law that came into ...
or democratic principles. Rebuking the treatment of the EU, namely that Brussels asked the government to halt the process a day before the vote, he emphasized that Hungary's parliament had not enacted any law that restricts the Constitutional Court from assessing laws and their provisions. He also declared his government open to discussion. In response to the Tavares-report, several members of the European Parliament declared, that it is the European left that criticizes the Hungarian Fundamental Law.


Further developments

The report of the EU-Commission appeared in June 2013. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted "not to put Hungary under surveillance over concerns about changes to its constitution." In July 2013 US Congressman, Chris Smith, co-chairman of the US Helsinki Committee declared that "I am dealing with human rights issues in the
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
for 33 years now and these changes really had a great effect on me," criticisms are unfair, use double standards, misinterpretations, or incorrect information" and that "checks and balances are alive and well in Hungary.",


Fifth Amendment of the Fundamental Law

16 September 2013, following the consultations with the Venice Commission, the Hungarian National Assembly modified the constitution again. The amendment allows the commercial media broadcasters to air political ads free of charge, but they must operate similarly to public media channels. The transfer of cases between courts was nullified. The rule allowing the government to levy taxes to finance the debts, which occur due to court decisions was also suppressed. According to the new regulations all religious communities are entitled to operate freely, but those who seek further cooperation with the state (e.g., taking part in education, health care, social programs and so on) has to be voted on by the national assembly to receive an official status." In October, 2013 Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe declared that the laws on the media and the judiciary that had been so heavily criticised were amended, and the European institutions were satisfied with that. He welcomed the cooperation of foreign secretary Martonyi with the Venice Commission, and he finally concluded that "A number of criticisms can still be made, of course, but the Hungarians have gone a long way in correcting much of the legislation that the international community has so heavily criticised." US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs,
Victoria Nuland Victoria Jane Nuland (born July 1, 1961) is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2021 to 2024. A former member of the US Foreign Service, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for European an ...
declared "The US side assessed the fifth amendment to the basic law as a step in the right direction,"


Party breakdown


Beginning of term

Party breakdown of cabinet ministers in the beginning of term:


End of term

Party breakdown of cabinet ministers in the end of term:


Members of the Cabinet


Composition

Coalition members: , , and


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orban Government 02 2010 establishments in Hungary 2014 disestablishments in Hungary Cabinets established in 2010 Cabinets disestablished in 2014 Hungarian governments Government 2