BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – 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.”