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Freedom House Warns of Democratic Breakdown in Central, Eastern Europe

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   In its latest report, U.S.-based democracy monitor Freedom House warns
   of a "stunning democratic breakdown" across Central Europe, the
   Balkans, and Eurasia as many leaders in the region attempt to do away
   with any remaining checks on their power.
   "A growing number of leaders in Central and Eastern Europe have dropped
   even the pretense that they play by the rules of democracy. They openly
   attack democratic institutions and are working to restrict individual
   freedoms," the group says in its annual [1]Nations In Transit report,
   released on May 6.
   The report says the attacks on democratic institutions could be
   accelerated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but Freedom House
   President Michael Abramowitz said the health crisis also creates an
   "inflection point" after which things could become much worse, or
   democracy could be revitalized.
   The hope is that the experience of the epidemic "will illustrate the
   importance of transparent and accountable governance and catalyze new
   demands for change," Abramowitz said.
   Freedom House says that the number of democracies in the 29 countries
   covered in the report is at its lowest point ever at just 10.
   The overall democracy score for the region, an average of all the
   countries assessed, declined for the 16th year in a row.
   The report says the slippage of democratic reforms is demonstrated
   through the manipulation of electoral frameworks that gives undue
   advantage to incumbents, parliaments that have been sidelined by
   opposition boycotts, and smear campaigns against independent media and
   civil society.
   It also says the judiciary and the rule of law have become targets in
   many countries through such maneuvers as packing courts with loyalists
   and adopting restrictive laws that do away with judicial independence.
   The report's judicial framework and independence category had the
   largest number of declines, with six countries registering a
   deterioration: the Czech Republic, Georgia, Latvia, Montenegro, Poland,
   and Slovakia.

   'Hybrid regimes'
   The report identifies several countries that have been downgraded
   according a rating on democratic progress. It says Poland has dropped
   out of the group of consolidated democracies and is now rated a
   semiconsolidated democracy.
   Hungary, Serbia, and Montenegro have all left the category of
   democracies entirely and are now classified as transitional
   government/hybrid regimes.
   The report singles out EU member Hungary as having the largest drop
   ever recorded in the 25 years since Freedom House published its first
   Nations In Transit report.
   The country's democracy score has been on a steep decline in the past
   decade and the report describes Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a leader
   who has "dropped any pretense of respecting democratic institutions."
   Similarly, Poland, also an EU member state, moved downward, becoming a
   semiconsolidated democracy largely because of losses in judicial
   framework and independence over the past five years.

References

   1. https://freedomhouse.org/article/new-report-nations-transit-2020-finds-weakened-institutions-europe-and-eurasia-politicians

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