LMP helps elect Constitutional Court judges

As other opposition parties accuse the green party of treason, former LMP leader András Schiffer takes up the defence of the Party’s MPs. He contends that the new appointees will bolster the system of checks and balances in Hungary.

The six LMP MPs have made it possible for Fidesz to elect the missing four judges to the Constitutional Court. Their decision has been harshly criticised by the rest of the opposition. The governing side is two votes short of the two thirds majority required. Left-wing MPs surmise a background deal between LMP founder András Schiffer and the government, even suspecting that Mr Schiffer may be rewarded with a seat on the Constitutional Court when the next vacancy occurs . Mr Schiffer resigned as co-chairman of his party as well as from Parliament (See BudaPost June 1)

On Reflektor, András Schiffer reminds his left-wing critics of the innumerable files they have submitted to the Constitutional Court over the past five years, many of which have been judged positively by the court. In such cases, he writes, they never refrained from declaring victory. He thus finds it hypocritical to talk about boycotting the institution as one stuffed with Fidesz cronies. Schiffer explains that his main concern is to keep the system of checks and balances alive. Among the sitting 11 court judges he discerns three who would give more elbow room to the government, while another three are partisans of keeping it under strict legal control. Of the four new judges, he continues, at least three are also champions of checks and balances. Under such conditions, he concludes, it would have been self-defeating not to agree to their nomination.

Tags: Constitutional Court, LMP, Schiffer