A totalitarian society can be recognized by the fact that those in power disregard agreed-upon rules when the resulting decisions would be unpleasant. This came to my mind when reading about the debate in the European Parliament, where an attempt was made to prevent Hungary from assuming the rotating presidency of the EU.
I understand that Hungary does not represent the mainstream of the EU but rather one of its extreme ends. However, this does not justify the violation of rules; it may justify, at most, a political process to change the system.
In this case, such a goal could be to place member states in different positions, where the presidency would only apply to a subset of countries. And if such a decision were to be made, it would undoubtedly lead to the disintegration of the EU.
Therefore, the attack by Germany's Green Party member Daniel Freund against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should be seen primarily as an expression of totalitarian thinking - or even an echo from Germany 80 years ago.
Freund demanded a ban on Orbán entering the European Parliament if Hungary were to become the presiding country. Such an initiative is exactly the kind of fanatic ranting that we do not need in the European Parliament.
Instead, it is necessary to adhere to collectively agreed democratic rules, even when the outcome is not pleasing. Only by acting in this way can the EU remain a democratic community, where all nations and citizens have equal rights.
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