Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, triumphantly declared recently that the country was firmly on a different path to Greece. With a package of fiscal reforms announced in March, Hungary’s outlook has improved and the economic fate of the country remains squarely in its own hands but equally a much more troubling shift is under way.

Under the guise of economic reform, Mr Orban has veered from an ancient Greek path, one that underpins the entire European Union – that of democracy. The Fidesz government has leveraged its ability to warp the constitution, cementing institutional and democratic rollbacks into the rule of law. Mr Orban’s consolidation of power at the expense of democratic institutions exposes a fundamental challenge for the EU as a whole – it cannot enforce the very credo that spawned it. Hungary’s disregard for democracy and civil liberties could threaten the European brand in the eyes of potential new members and the world at large.

Mr Orban’s government has fashioned a new fiscal council that now has three members, all of whom are Fidesz loyalists or will soon be appointed by the party. And while the council’s operating budget has been slashed by more than 98 per cent, its political authority has ballooned. Worse, the council has the ability to dissolve parliament – a death stroke to any future opposition government.