Jobbik ready to resume talks on constitutional amendments

Budapest, January 23 (MTI) – The radical nationalist Jobbik party has said it is ready to continue talks on a constitutional amendment that would create the conditions to handle a terrorist threat, if the ruling Fidesz party “is truly ready to compromise for the security of Hungary”.

The government has proposed amending the constitution to include a “state of terrorist threat” among instances that mandate the domestic deployment of the armed forces.

Jobbik spokesman Adam Mirkoczki, who also sits on parliament’s national security committee, on Saturday said his party is committed to taking a tough stand against migration and all forms of terrorism, which he said “goes hand in hand” with the former. He said his party’s commitment was proven when it was the first to recommend building a fence on the southern border and when it was the only opposition party to support deploying the army to patrol the borders. Jobbik opposes the European Union’s planned refugee quota system for the same reason, he said.

Mirkoczki added, however, that the current draft of the amendment proposal would give the government too much power “in areas that have nothing to do with terrorism”.

The party spokesman called on Fidesz deputy leader and the head of parliament’s legislative committee, Gergely Gulyas, to include Jobbik’s own proposals in the debate on the amendments.

Echoing Gulyas’s words from Friday, Janos Halasz, spokesman for Fidesz’ parliamentary group, responded to Jobbik reiterating that the ruling party remains open to further talks on the planned amendment “but we would like a solution and not senseless compromises”. Referring to the opposition’s earlier criticism of the proposal, Halasz said it was “no surprise” that the leftist parties “do not want to protect the Hungarian people”, but added that “Jobbik also turning against” the people was a “new development”.

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