Socialists: Only Left capable of restoring democratic rule of law

Budapest, November 25 (MTI) – Although European Union institutions can sometimes block some of the government’s measures, only Hungary’s Left is capable of restoring the democratic rule of law, Socialist leader Jozsef Tobias said on Wednesday.

“Replacing the regime of [Prime Minister] Viktor Orban is our job and responsibility,” Tobias said at a conference organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Tancsics Foundation. Over the past five years, Hungary has seen the deepening of a democracy crisis, he said.

The Left has to be more than a democratic opposition to ruling Fidesz, he said, adding that it must also help in eliminating the country’s democratic deficit.

He said Hungary could not afford to simply return to the constitutional framework of the early 1990s but instead needs to find more radical but lawful ways to overcome Hungary’s problems. He said the Left needs to accept the fact that the politically active portion of society tends to reject political parties, adding however, that it must also take note of the high level of support for a “turnaround in society” among these groups. Hungary needs a system which aims to build a relationship with and trust among the politically active part of society.

Tobias said professional and political organisations were right to criticise Hungary’s current constitution which entered into effect in 2011, adding that people who had predicted that the government was not looking to govern based on consensus decision-making.