Civil activists fear new crackdown in Hungary after Trump election

Activists believe rightwing PM buoyed by election of Trump will
target NGOs funded by foreign backers such as George Soros

Robert Tait
Tuesday 10 January 2017 07.00 GMT

Foreign-backed civil society groups in Hungary, including those funded by the billionaire liberal philanthropist George Soros, fear they could become the target of a new crackdown from a populist rightwing government emboldened by the election of Donald Trump.

The Hungarian government is planning to force non-government organisation (NGO) leaders to declare their personal assets in the same way as MPs and public officials in what has been described as an “intimidation” of civil society. The proposal is scheduled to go before parliament in April, according to the newly published 2017 legislative agenda.

The move is seen as the latest step in a campaign by Viktor Orbán, the prime minister, to transform Hungary into a self-styled “illiberal state”, which has prompted a chorus of international criticism that democracy is being eroded in a country which joined the European Union in 2004.

Orbán has already faced widespread condemnation over moves allegedly designed to muzzle press freedom and curtail judiciary independence since his Fidesz party took power in 2010.

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