Hungary’s nationalist government plans to tighten control over theaters, in a move critics said could undermine their independence and stifle artistic freedom. According to draft legislation seen by Reuters on Friday, the government would set up a National Cultural Council, headed by a minister, with the task of “setting priorities and directions to be followed in Hungarian culture”. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban won power in 2010, his right-wing Fidesz party has rewritten Hungary’s constitution, gained control of state media, and businessmen close to Orban and the party have built empires.
