Hungary's leader wants drug tests for journalists

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has vowed to remake Hungary into a "non-liberal" state as he moves closer to Moscow, now wants mandatory drug testing for journalists and politicians.

The plan has alarmed his critics, who call it an attack on civil liberties and a cynical attempt to combat a drop in his popularity.

A member of his governing Fidesz party had recently suggested mandatory, annual drug tests for 12- to 18-year-olds as well, but that plan has apparently been dropped.

In an interview on state radio Friday, Orban said drug use and the "drug mafia" are a growing threat and that the government intends to fight back during the rest of its term, which lasts until 2018.

"The government decided that it will rid Hungary of the drug mafia in this term," Orban said. "Politicians, journalists and those filling positions of public trust have to be included (in the drug tests) because it is clear that those who consume drugs cannot be relied on in the fight against drugs."

"We have to clarify where everyone stands. We have to announce this fight and the drug mafia has to be squeezed out of Hungary with the most Draconian punishments and the most precise procedures by the authorities," Orban said.

Journalists and civic rights leaders are outraged.

The Association of Independent Journalists said the drug testing proposal was "legally and morally deeply outrageous."

"It is particularly astounding that it targets journalists, practically emphasizing that media workers are some sort of depraved people," said association President Zsuzsanna Gyongyosi.

At the same time, Gyongyosi said she agreed with the idea put forward by an opposition group which would make all lawmakers in parliament take a breath alcohol test before entering the chambers.

Balazs Gulyas, who has organized recent anti-Orban protests, said the proposed drug tests would "stigmatize journalists as drug users" and were another effort to limit media freedoms.

"It is quite scary that now the government is directly targeting journalists," said Gulyas, a leader of large rallies against a now-shelved plan by Orban to tax Internet use.

Since he took power in 2010 Orban has consolidated power for his conservative Fidesz party, tightening control over the media and courts, and attempting to crack down on independent civic groups.

The U.S. government and international democracy groups have expressed alarm at what they see a weakening of democratic guarantees in the country, which threw off communism 25 years ago and now is a member of the European Union.

A defining moment in Orban's political journey came in July, when he said he was building "an illiberal state, a non-liberal state," and cited Russia, China, Turkey and Singapore as successful models. At the same time he has been moving closer to Russia, forging energy deals with Moscow and criticizing Western sanctions imposed after the Kremlin's aggressions in Ukraine.

Critics such as Gulyas say that talk of the drug testing also is a way for Orban to detract attention from the economic malaise and other frustrations in the country.

"How serious can this drug mafia be if Orban didn't talk about it for four years?" Gulyas said. "Either he was blind during his previous term or this is just a cheap populist ploy."

According to one expert, abuse alcohol is a far greater problem. The country of nearly 10 million has some 800,000 alcoholics and 20,000 drug addicts, says toxicologist Gabor Zacher, head of emergency services at the Military Hospital in Budapest.

Orban's Fidesz party overwhelming won re-election earlier this year after changing the election rules in its favor. But Orban's popularity lately seems under threat, with several large street protests in past weeks, and opinion polls showing falling support for Fidesz.

One of the main triggers of dissatisfaction was a plan to tax Internet use, a perceived attack on freedom of speech. Orban shelved that idea, at least for now, in the face of public outrage.

Protesters say they have also been encouraged by a sharp U.S. criticism of Orban's government.