Steven N.
Ákos Hadházy (pictured), the independent politician who won a seat in the next National Assembly from Budapest’s Zugló district, has repeatedly posted since the election on the need for the political opposition to conduct politics in a completely different way. He offered some specifics on this in an interview with 24.hu.
The first important and legitimate question that needs to be clarified right away is whether the mandates should be accepted. I say yes, but only if we use it for what it should be used for. Our politicians will be paid from their mandate, and will have a financial package, staff, and opportunities. But we can only assume this duty if we do not act as the kind of Parliament that the Russian opposition plays for Putin.
-said Ákoz Hazházy in the interview.
The politician believes that the opposition should only take part in the opening session of the new Parliament if it receives certain guarantees from Fidesz for this term. These guarantees are:
- Open access to public institutions
- The minority can launch a parliamentary committee of inquiry
- The head of state-run media should be selected by consensus
If we don’t get these but still go to the opening session, we might as well write ‘collaborators’ on our foreheads, in my opinion.
-said the independent politician. When the reporter commented that they were unlikely to receive these guarantees, he countered:
Then we won’t be at Parliament’s opening session.
Hadházy acknowledged that this new type of politics would involve certain sacrifices for opposition MPs, such as financial penalties, and that there’s a chance that many would prefer to maintain the current parliamentary process.
But what does Hadházy think they should do instead of being in Parliament?
I’ve been saying for years that you can’t debate with Fidesz over the bills they propose, but instead go into small towns and find a few people you can keep in touch with and perhaps count on later.
He continued:
It definitely doesn’t work if you head down to rural areas a month before the election, then share a photo of it on Facebook. The connection must be real. We can learn this from Viktor Orbán, who sent his MPs on such a mission in 2006. He gave them three months to get two names in every small town of people who could be called if [Fidesz leader Gábor] Kubatov needed them.
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