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Prime Minister Viktor Orban's supporters and
pro-government journalists have long argued that after he won a
third strong mandate in 2018, it was time for a shift in culture
towards conservative values to end what they call the domination
of the arts in Hungary by liberals and left-wingers.
In power for a decade, Orban, a nationalist, has steadily
tightened government control over various walks of Hungarian
public life including universities, the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences, and state media. Oligarchs close to Orban have bought
up large chunks of the private media.
In a speech following his 2018 election victory, Orban said the
main task was to "embed the political system in a cultural era."
A law passed by parliament earlier this year transferred the
ownership of the state-run theatre school, which goes back 155
years, to a private foundation.
The government appointed a board of five trustees, rejecting
members proposed by the university. The university's senate said
it had been deprived of its right to decide on budgetary,
organisational and personnel issues.
"This was a cornerstone for us that if there is nothing left of
the autonomy of the institution then we must retreat to the
classrooms to teach," said deputy dean Eszter Novak.
"This is the start of a new era."
Several leading theatre directors have resigned from their
teaching positions at the school in recent weeks. Students were
due to stage a protest at the university later on Monday.
The government, which denies any attempt to censure free
expression, has said the fact that some universities will be
governed by a board of trustees will actually eliminate state
influence over them.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Krisztina Fenyo; Editing by
Gareth Jones)
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