Hungary's constitution comes under attack Hungary's government on Tuesday made a robust defence of a new constitution that critics both inside and outside the country have called an assault on democracy. The comments came after a demonstration by up to 30,000 protesters on Monday night outside Budapest's opera house where a reception was taking place to celebrate the constitution coming into force on January 1. Earlier, former communist-era dissidents had accused the government of Viktor Orban of "destroying the democratic rule of law." Financial markets, meanwhile, continued to put pressure on the country, whose debt has been downgraded to junk by two rating agencies in recent weeks. Hungary on Tuesday sold three-month Treasury bills at their highest yield since 2009 in the first debt auction since the country passed controversial laws that could jeopardise financial assistance it is seeking from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Hungary's new constitution and several associated "cardinal" laws passed just before the new year have caused mounting international concern. Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, wrote to Mr Orban last week expressing worries over democracy in Hungary. But Peter Szijjarto, Mr Orban's spokesman, told the Financial Times that many criticisms of the new constitution were exaggerated or incorrect. If anyone says the current Hungarian government wants to bring Hungary to a dictatorship, what can I say? No it does not," he said, "because it is a democratic government." He insisted the new constitution was designed to replace a flawed basic law that, unlike in Hungary's neighbours, had remained in place in modified form since the fall of communism in eastern Europe two decades ago. Mr Szijjarto likened the furore over the constitution to criticisms a year ago of a new media law, which he claimed had proved groundless. "Critics said freedom of the press will die," he said. If you come to Hungary and open up any newspaper, or watch TV news, you can read what rude things they say about us. The prime minister's spokesman rejected opponents" claims that redrawn constituency boundaries in a new electoral law could entrench his Fidesz party in power. Mr Szijjarto disputed analyses suggesting that under the new boundaries, Fidesz would have won elections in 2002 and 2006 that it lost under the old system, saying it was impossible to predict voter behaviour. "I think voter patterns are independent of boundaries," he said. Critics have also warned that judicial reforms give the government undue influence over the courts, in particular the appointment of Tunde Hando, an Orban family friend, as head of a new National Justice Office. The office has powers both to appoint judges and to allocate cases to courts of its choosing. Mr Szijjarto said Ms Hando had been a judge "for decades without one single complaint." "She is a very respected expert," he said. The reform was designed to speed up court cases in Hungary's sclerotic and inefficient judicial system. "People seem to think that [Ms Hando] can dictate the verdict in advance," he said. I do not think the independence of the judicial system is at risk.