Hungary Approves Science Crackdown as Orban Walks EU Tightrope

(Bloomberg) -- Hungarian lawmakers rubber-stamped a bill that critics warn will open the door to the political control of scientific research in Prime Minister Viktor Orban's latest move to tighten his grip on power.

The law is another step in Orban's almost decade-long march to take control of all walks of Hungarian life. He has imposed his will on institutions ranging from media and education to the central bank and courts, drawing censure from the European Union for undermining the rule of law. But the premier has also avoided serious punishment by reversing course when he sees he's pushed the EU's boundaries too far.

Underscoring that approach, another bill was approved on Tuesday to rescind a plan to carve up the supreme court for the second time in a decade. Orban announced the climbdown in May after nationalists who had rallied with him in a call to change the EU's liberal, multi-cultural values failed to win enough support in European Parliament elections.

After his ruling Fidesz party was suspended from Europe's biggest political group for democratic backsliding, Orban is maneuvering to protect billions of euros at risk of being cut by EU officials as a sanction against countries that flout the bloc's standards.

“It's Orban's classic peacock dance,” said Peter Kreko, executive director of the Budapest-based think-tank Political Capital, in reference to the passage of the judicial law. “He wants to sustain his government and make sure that EU funds keep flowing to the country.”

Read more: Hungary Becomes First ‘Partly Free' EU Nation in Democracy Gauge

Talks over the bloc's seven-year budget will get underway in earnest later this year after national leaders settle on who will lead the EU's executive. A special summit to discuss the nomination resumes on Tuesday, with Orban adamantly opposed to the candidacy of Frans Timmermans, the commission's first vice-president and a vocal Orban critic.

A four-term premier, Orban controls not only parliament but most of Hungary's formerly independent institutions, as well as Europe's biggest propaganda machine. Hungary is also facing an EU probe for eroding the rule of law, which may ultimately lead to the suspension of its voting rights in the bloc.

The science bill strips the autonomous Academy of Sciences of its 15 research centers that fund work on everything from nuclear physics to linguistics. With Orban arguing that research should serve an economic purpose and align with the cabinet's priorities, the legislation will put the centers' 3,000 scientists under control of a new entity led by government appointees.

Orban has vowed to boost funding if his delegates can influence what can or can't be researched. Scientists have protested, saying it's a slippery slope to political control. The Academy has also said it may prompt experts to leave the country to work abroad.

Before that vote, lawmakers backed abolishing a law stripping the supreme court of its mandate to judge public administration cases, including ones dealing with elections and corruption. A new top court under the jurisdiction of Orban's justice minister was going to start issuing rulings from next year, but that plan has been indefinitely suspended.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoltan Simon in Budapest at zsimon@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Andras Gergely

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