Taking issue with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán securing the right to rule by decree during the coronavirus crisis, Donald Tusk wants to expel Orbánʼs party, Fidesz, from the European Peopleʼs Party (EPP) until the end of the year, according to the German Press Agency. Tusk, who heads the EPP, told Der Spiegel that Hungary’s emergency law “has nothing more to do with the spirit of democracy.” The Hungarian parliament voted in March to give the government sweeping powers in an effort to contain the coronavirus. Fidesz controls parliament with a two-thirds majority. “How many times in our history have we seen politicians use laws that have been put in place to expand their powers? You know that from Germany,” Tusk told the German magazine. Tusk added that he wants to convince EPP members that “we donʼt have to choose between freedom and security, but that we can offer both to the citizens.” The EPP board won’t likely meet again until September.
