Fidesz will not negotiate with the opposition in the case of a terrorist threat

Budapest, January 26 (MTI) – The constitution must be amended to ensure the security of Hungarian families, and Fidesz refuses to compromise on the issue, deputy party leader Szilárd Németh said on Tuesday, commenting on the ruling party’s legislation package which seeks to mobilise the army at home, among other measures, in the case of a terrorist threat.

Németh said attempts by the left-wing parties and radical nationalist Jobbik to introduce certain safeguards such as time limits on the period under which a so-called state of terror can be maintained, “goes against the will of the people”.

He said the government proposal to insert a state of terror provision into the constitution forms part of several decisions by the government to protect law-abiding Hungarian people, he added.

Meanwhile, Németh noted that Fidesz had asked local councils to introduce resolutions that clearly demonstrate their position regarding the EU migrant quota. A total of 36 councils have made their position known and the majority reject the quota, he added. Representatives of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrats alliance have voted in support of these resolutions, but the left-wing have taken a position that goes against people’s interests and are “on the side of the migrants”.

He added that a Fidesz petition against the quotas has been signed by nearly 2 million people.

Jobbik spokesman Ádám Mirkóczki noted in response that Fidesz deputy leader Gergely Gulyás had declared on Friday the party was open to consultations. And Fidesz group spokesman János Halász repeated this on Saturday, yet “Németh clearly rejected any type of talks today”, he said in a statement.

The Hungarian people are not only afraid of terrorists but also of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s “craze of power”, Mirkóczki said. “Fidesz’s stubbornness goes against the Hungarian people’s interests,” he added.

The opposition Socialists called on Fidesz to “give genuine answers” to their alternative proposals to the constitutional amendment. Tamás Harangozó, the party’s deputy parliamentary group leader, said in a statement that Németh’s press briefing had been “full of cliches”, and that if Fidesz was in the least interested about handling potential terror threats it would have asked someone to speak “who had at least read the Socialists’ proposal”. Knowing the facts is not essential for someone “put out there to hype up sentiments and demonise the opposition,” he said.

The Fidesz proposal needs a two-thirds majority in parliament to pass and therefore the ruling party must rely on votes from the opposition.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters