Liberal commentator on the weakness of the opposition

A liberal commentator deplores the fact that after almost two years of Fidesz rule, the national holiday of March 15 is being celebrated by a divided opposition, and that opposition groups have still not produced a credible alternative to PM Orbán’s government.

“Debates will centre around how many people will have attended this or that rally, but nobody will ask what the opposition actually wants, apart from sending Orbán to hell,” László Seres writes in HVG.

The liberal columnist thinks former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány’s Democratic Coalition Party is hesitating between two extremes: left wing populism and pro-market liberalism. He suggests that the Socialists are even further from offering a viable programme, as they simply repeat old-fashioned   left-wing maxims.

Seres harshly criticises the anti party-political rhetoric of the two new movements: Szolidaritás (See BudaPost, March 13) and Milla (One million for press freedom – see BudaPost, October 25, 2011).  Szolidaritás leader Péter Kónya has outlined demands, including the possibility for constituencies to revoke the mandates of their Members of Parliament, which in Seres’ view simply cannot be taken seriously. Milla, on the other hand, has wasted two months electing “an alternative President” among its supporters, only to proclaim as winner a rapper known for his often vulgar lyrics. If they had not  manipulated the result, the contest would have been won by an even more vulgar and extreme communist blogger. In conclusion, the HVG columnist deplores LMP’s proposal to hold a referendum on some of the government’s restrictive measures. He finds the initiative particularly discouraging, as it shows that a potential alternative government would reverse all rational measures taken by the present parliamentary majority. Seres is a harsh critic of the Fidesz government, but says the alternative is also disheartening.

Tags: Gyurcsány, LMP, Milla, MSZP, opposition, protests, Szolidaritás