Can democracy be destroyed to save it? Europe's double standard

The underlying question is who decides what is democratic and what is not. The annulled election in Romania, the political disputes in Poland and Hungary, and restrictions on certain parties have turned that question into a practical problem for the European institutions.

The annulled election in **Romania** has raised an uncomfortable question: can a government or an institution destroy democracy in order to save it? The political disputes in **Poland** and **Hungary**, the restrictions on certain parties and the debates over freedom of expression sketch out a map where the answer changes depending on who holds power.

## The Romanian precedent and the question nobody wants to answer

Annulling an election in **Romania** is no technical detail. It is an act that suspends the will expressed at the ballot box and, depending on how it is justified, could be repeated in any country. The problem is not only legal. It is political: if democracy is defended by annulling elections, what remains of the principle that the rules must be respected even when the outcome is unwelcome?

## Poland and Hungary: the double standard as a method

With **Poland** and **Hungary**, the European institutions have applied different criteria depending on the moment and the government in power. What some see as a defence of the rule of law, others see as political interference. That inconsistency is no accident. It is the result of a system where the separation of powers intersects with the interests of the elites who decide what is acceptable and what is not.

## Freedom of expression and parties under suspicion

Restrictions on certain parties and the debates over freedom of expression complete the picture. The question is not whether a particular party can be curtailed, but who has the authority to do so and under what criteria. If the criterion shifts whenever it is convenient, democracy stops being a system of rules and becomes a system where only those approved by the powers that be can win.

## What is at stake

The debate is not about defending any particular party. It is about whether democratic rules must be respected even when the outcomes are unwelcome. The annulled election in **Romania**, the disputes in **Poland** and **Hungary** and the restrictions on certain parties are different cases, but they share the same question: who decides what is democratic and what is not? The answer given will shape the future of Europe's political system.