LMP leader Schiffer plans to resign

A conservative columnist suspects that the LMP has little chance of reaching the 5 per cent threshold at the 2018 Parliamentary election without its iconic leader.

In an interview with Index, LMP founder András Schiffer announced his resignation as an MP and party leader. Schiffer said he wants to withdraw from daily politics and work on developing a theoretical basis for green and anti-globalist policies. Schiffer underscored that he will not run for seats in 2018 and 2019, in  either parliamentary, EP or municipal elections.  

András Schiffer has acknowledged defeat and realized that he could not break the glass ceiling and make the LMP a stronger party, András Stumpf comments on Mandiner. The conservative columnist recalls that in private discussions after the 2014 election, Schiffer hinted that he was considering stepping down as the LMP could not create a strong base under his leadership. Stumpf suspects that Schiffer’s resignation from office is a serious blow for the LMP. Without its iconic founding leader, The party is unlikely to meet the 5 percent threshold at the next Parliamentary election, Stumpf predicts.

In Heti Világgazdaság, Gáspár Miklós Tamás finds Schiffer’s resignation sad and disappointing. The Marxist philosopher admits that he did not fully agree with Schiffer’s vision, but he nonetheless appreciated his efforts to keep his party’s independence both from Left and Right. Schiffer followed a consistent left-wing anti-globalist economic path while at the same time advocating human rights, Tamás remarks. He adds that Schiffer rejected neoliberal dogmas as well as ethnic nationalism, and also firmly refused to co-operate with the current mainstream left which would have meant the end of LMP’s ideological and institutional independence. In conclusion, Tamás writes that Schiffer’s resignation suggests that transcending the ever increasing polarization in Hungary is a hopeless task.

Tags: LMP, Schiffer