The MSZP continues to lose ground

A centrist analyst thinks the Socialist Party should urgently find a convincing mission for itself – or possibly lose its place in Parliament.

In a short essay on Mandiner, political scientist Ervin Csizmadia writes that two of the three great political currents of the late 20 century have found new roles for themselves in today’s world, while the third – the social democrats are at a loss about theirs. Liberals have become the promoters of supranational integration, while conservatives have chosen national sovereignty as their mission. In Hungary, he continues, the political space is now dominated by the forces of sovereignist conservatism, while liberals dominate in the intellectual sphere. Internationally, Csizmadia writes, the establishment is being challenged by extreme left-wing groupings, but the MSZP is struggling to adopt a similar profile. After the fall of communism, the party was in two minds, representing both the losers and the winners of the regime change, but ultimately lost its liberal-minded wing (this is how the Democratic Coalition came into being) while those officials who remain are still unclear about their own mission. Extreme left-wing riots seem inconceivable in Hungary, while traditional social democracy could not be resuscitated after the regime change. If nothing changes, Csizmadia believes, the MSZP might shrink from a small party to become one of the fringe groups that never make it into parliament.

Tags: conservatives, liberals, MSZP, sovereignty