Orban’s Followers in Southeastern Europe
The coronavirus pandemic in one way or another affects the developments in the countries of Southeastern Europe Autocratic methods of leaders of the countries traditionally considered to be a weak link in the architecture of the European community.
In the countries of the region, democracy has been rapidly curtailing recently. This implies concentration of power, degradation of media freedoms, and politicization of justice.
Autocratic and populist rulers of Southeastern Europe, with their typical disregard for scientific expertise, were not well prepared for the crisis.
Extending state powers while narrowing civil rights, which is particularly evident in the region, is often explained by limited resources. In fact, health care in those countries has been weakened by the professionals’ leaving for the West, which has been going on for years and is not the result of a pandemic, but of a system of government and national economy.
Nationalistic or selfish aspirations of the leaderships of some countries in the region are vestigial remnants of the former communist era. They will surely give way to the progressive EU forces.
