More on Constitutional Court election

While left-wing parties accuse the LMP of “collaborating” with the ruling parties, the first left-wing media reaction is only mildly negative. A liberal and a conservative analyst, although both critical of the government, see the election of the missing Constitutional Court judges in a positive light.

On Tuesday, Parliament elected the four missing judges to the Constitutional Court, with votes in favour by the governing coalition and the green party (See BudaPost, November 23)

In Népszava, Zoltán Simon likens the LMP to Jobbik in that both are ‘in opposition to the government’, while the rest of the opposition opposes ‘the régime’, namely the institutional setup created by the ruling parties. He thinks the Democratic Coalition ‘was not entirely wrong’ in declaring that the LMP has ceased to be in opposition.

On 444, Péter Magyari recalls that Fidesz has had to find partners in the opposition three times to pass laws requiring two thirds majorities, and in two of those a compromise was found. In each case, the final outcome was better than it would have been without the contribution of the opposition parties. (The first case was Jobbik’s approval of the law on a special state of migration emergency. In exchange for its votes, Jobbik had the duration of the state of emergency reduced – see BudaPost, June 9) Magyari believes that to be true in the latest case as well, since two of the new judges have openly taken positions against government measures in the past.

Magyar Nemzet’s Szabolcs Szerető would find it difficult to oppose the election of ‘excellent candidates’ to the Constitutional Court. He agrees with LMP founder András Schiffer’s ‘passionate and intelligent’ arguments in defence of his party’s  ‘yes’ votes. – See BudaPost, November 23. Ultimately, however, the matter should be judged in light of the future rulings of the Constitutional Court, he concludes.

Tags: Constitutional Court, opposition, Parliament