Movement of former government officials calls for PM candidate debate

A self-purported opposition advisory group made up of former ministers and government officials has proposed holding live televised prime ministerial and policy experts’ debates.

Detailing their proposal at a press conference on Tuesday, members of the recently founded Válasszunk! 2018 (Let’s vote! 2018 – V18) group said the policy experts’ debates would be divided into three segments, each focusing on a variety of specific policy issues. This would be followed by a debate between the PM candidates of the factions that have the highest chances of forming a parliamentary group.

Hungary’s current election process is “in desperate need” of a second round of voting, former European commissioner and foreign minister Péter Balázs said. Its absence has a severe distorting effect on the race. It follows that a single-round election system especially demands debates, Balázs said.

“Without a manifesto, one cannot run in the election and there can be no election without debates,” he said.

Balázs said V18 would leave it up to the parties taking part in the debates and media outlets to work out the rules of the debates.

Commenting on the suggestion that the ruling parties would never agree to participate in the debates, Balázs said there were internationally-tested solutions for such a scenario. As an example he suggested that organisers could play clips of past remarks on a given subject by politicians who are absent from the debate.

featured image: MTI

Source: MTI