The establishment of one-man rule in the heart of Europe has enraged civil libertarians and Hungary's opposition leaders, who see the move as a power grab by Orban and accuse him of taking advantage of the Coronavirus pandemic to establish an elective dictatorship and to kill off the country's democracy.

Pressure is mounting on the European Union to take action against Hungary for passing sweeping emergency measures that will allow populist leader Viktor Orban to rule by decree indefinitely.

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Orban' insists the measure is only temporary. And his foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, told CNN Thursday that it was "unfair" to say the rule-by-decree measure amounts to a threat to the country's democracy, arguing that while there's no sunset-clause in the measure placing a deadline on Orban's enhanced authority, the parliament can conclude to end his new powers, when it determines the crisis is over.

"There are many fake news and lies spread about Hungary based on this new law," he said.

But Orban's foes doubt his good faith and say his emergency measure fits into a disturbing pattern of authoritarian-minded leaders across the world, from Ankara to Beijing, Caracas to Moscow, leveraging the current pandemic as an opportunity to consolidate their power, or expand it, to try to make themselves unassailable.

In Hungary's case, the emergency coronavirus measure cancels the country's elections, offers eight-year prison sentences for anyone breaking quarantine restrictions and gives the prime minister the power to shut down press outlets that spread what is deemed "fake news."

"Parliament can, technically vote to end this extra power," says Umut Korkut, a politics professor at Scotland's Glasgow Caledonian University, "but Orban's party Fidesz has a two-thirds majority. The Constitutional Court can investigate the legality of any governmental decrees Orban produces, but again, he has made sure it is packed full of judges chosen by his party. It has been a long time since the court last voted against the government. The legislation therefore effectively delivers the country to Orban in full, without any checks and balances."

Since his reelection in 2010, civil libertarians have denounced Orban for initiating a concerted erosion of democratic checks and balances, including the curbing of judicial independence, the politicization of the civil service and state interference in media and civil society. The emergency measure has to be seen, say his critics, as a continuation of his effort to accrue more power.

"He moved quickly to consolidate power now because the public health crisis provides the perfect opportunity to take advantage of Hungarians' sense of vulnerability, fear, and anger," according to Markos Kounalakis, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, a think tank in Stanford, California.

The European Commission, which has clashed with Orban before over rule-of-law issues, said it was monitoring developments in Hungary and conceded it may now need to take action against Hungary. A Commission spokesman said it was carrying out a "mapping exercise" of member states to examine whether any laws adopted during the crisis comply with EU and international laws.

"There is particular concern about the case of Hungary and I can tell you that we will not hesitate to take further action if this is deemed necessary," the spokesman said.

Former European Council president Donald Tusk, who now heads the largest political grouping in the European Parliament, the European People's Party, a center-right alliance, says it should consider expelling Orban's Fidesz party as a member once the coronavirus crisis ends. "Making use of the pandemic to build a permanent state of emergency is politically dangerous, and morally unacceptable," Tusk said.

But there are doubts whether the Commission will act decisively, despite mounting pressure for it to take disciplinary action against Budapest. Midweek, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, a center-left political group in the European Parliament, issued a statement saying "Orban has crossed all red lines" and that "Hungary is becoming the first dictatorship in the EU." The parliament's president David Sassoli has called for "swift action."

But the Commission formal response has not gone beyond political statements expressing alarm, some of which do not specifically name Hungary even. They also contain no suggestion of possible economic punishment. Brussels has ducked taking sharp action before against Hungary over rule-of-law breaches, held back by, say observers, by its reluctance to confront member states when they step out of line.

In the past, he has also had the support of like-minded populist nationalists leaders in neighboring states in Central Europe - although this time they have also expressed disapproval at what they see as an over-reach.

One punitive step the EU could take, says Renata Uitz of the Comparative Constitutional Law program at the Vienna-based Central European University, is to block Hungary from accessing any money from a €861 million fund set up to assist member states to curb the pandemic.

"Conditioning access to EU funds based on member states' respect for the founding values of the European Union has never been more urgent - and has never been more achievable. Otherwise, the Union will continue to support a regime that has already demonstrated its commitment to abusing the unlimited emergency powers it arrogated," she says.