Fidesz picks another fight

„Hungary is transfixed by an unprecedented political battle. In one corner, the constitutional court, the highest legal body in the land. In the other, the centre-right Fidesz government, which has enjoyed virtually unlimited political power since it won a two-thirds parliamentary majority at a general election in April. Or at least it did until Tuesday morning, when the court threw out a law that would apply a 98% tax to all public-sector severance payments over 2m forints ($10,000), backdated to January 1st 2010. The court argued, reasonably enough, that such retroactive legislation would breach employee contracts and was unconstitutional. (...)

Fidesz reacted with fury. By Tuesday afternoon János Lázár, the leader of Fidesz in parliament, had drafted legislation to remove the court’s jurisdiction over the state budget, taxes and other financial matters. (...)

It seems this time the party may have overreached itself. If the court refuses to back down, Hungary could lurch into a constitutional crisis. This would be bad enough at any time, but Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union in January. Brussels and other European capitals are looking askance at Budapest. Speed-editing the constitution is not the example Hungarians' fellow Europeans want to see the country setting for its neighbours still trying to join the club, such as Croatia and Serbia. (...)”