Authoritarians love a crisis

Thanks to Anu Garg for a recent Thought for the Day:

I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the rights of the people by the gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. -James Madison, fourth US president (16 Mar 1751-1836)

An exception is using a crisis to remove rights under emergency powers, returning only a proportion of them, slowly and grudgingly as the crisis passes.