Readers of my blog will recall that, under the new election law, commercial airtime for campaign ads on TV and radio must be provided free of charge and equally divided among all political parties that have qualified with a national list. The public media cannot say no to these ads. Commercial media, on the other hand, have two choices: they can decline entirely, or they can accept and provide equal access to all qualified parties. (Here are all the details)
 
However, advertisements by the government and local municipalities fall under a different category. They cannot of course encourage voters to vote one way or the other, but they can run ads in the commercial media, buying airtime just like any business would do. Of course, it is up to the commercial channel to decide whether or not they accept the ads.

These government announcements are nothing new. They’ve been around for the past 25 years and were always required to be nonpartisan, to remain distinct from the party political ads.

There are two major TV channels in Hungary: RTL Klub and TV2. RTL Klub is the market leader with solid profits and declined both the free-of-charge campaign ads for the parties as well as the paid government announcements. TV2, which is reportedly not doing as well financially as RTL Klub, also declined the campaign ads but accepted paid, government public announcements.

On Tuesday, the Curia ruled that TV2 cannot broadcast the government’s public announcements because the governing party, Fidesz, is using the same slogan, “Hungary is doing better,” that the Government has been using now for some time. TV2 counter-argued that other channels, who do not allow party ads, like the opposition-leaning ATV and centrist radio station, Inforádió, still broadcast government ads.

Critics have droned on and on over the past four years about how judicial independence is under threat and our system of checks and balances eroding. Yet in the case of TV2, Hungary’s high court clearly ruled against the Government and, seemingly, against a decades-long practice. We differ with the ruling, but this is another sign that checks and balances and judicial independence are alive and kicking.

By Ferenc Kumin

Source: A Blog About Hungary

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