cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27386046
For better context in the broader timeline: Yesterday, the government pressured the university he graduated from to falsify his diploma. Law enforcement previously conducted raids and arrested various elected mayors, and is also keeping Umit Ozdag, leader of Zafer Party in jail without any reasonable justification.
Istanbul Republic Chief Prosecution Office has ordered arrest on 100 people that include politicians, journalists and businessmen, and Erdogan’s biggest rival candidate for president, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is also the current mayor of Istanbul.
Since it’s an EU member, they can’t blatantly cheat at the elections, or at least they haven’t attempted to. There were borderline issues, like people mass transfering into swing districts, an empty lot with no buildings near the Ukraine border having 200 people registered there, but no ballot stuffing or anything. You can just go and be an observer, the opposition is always recruiting. The system gets a lot of its current legitimacy from legit-ish elections.
But on the other hand, the EU can’t reasonably kick Hungary out, no such clause in the treaties, and if you start making shit up, everything else that was agreed on through hard work also gets called into question. The most reasonable path forward to exclude Hungary is literally to form an EU 2.0, which the French have been thinking about loudly for a while.
BTW the biggest engine factory of VW and Europe is in Hungary. Kicking it out or even restoring the customs borders would have you run up agaisnt the German car lobby.