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Neither Ursula von der Leyen nor Jean-Claude Juncker seemed ever to learn that weakness is an authoritarian's lunch (Photo: Council of the European Union)

Stopping the authoritarian rot in Europe

A few weeks ago, the European Union underwent a fundamental change: it ceased being a bloc of exclusively democratic states.

Worse, leaders across Europe barely flinched.

Prime minister Viktor Orbán's seizure of absolute power in Hungary at the beginning of April – under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic – culminates a decade of authoritarian moves.

Step by step, Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party have politicised ...

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Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch.

Neither Ursula von der Leyen nor Jean-Claude Juncker seemed ever to learn that weakness is an authoritarian's lunch (Photo: Council of the European Union)

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Author Bio

Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch.

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