Opposition Slams Orban For Forming Govt “Behind Closed Doors”

(MTI) – Hungary’s opposition slammed Viktor Orban for forming his government “behind closed doors” and by “sleight of hand” after the new cabinet ministers were sworn in on Friday.

Jozsef Tobias, the Socialist Party‘s acting group leader, told reporters it was worrying that it had taken two months to form the new government, which had been finalised “behind closed doors” just an hour before today’s parliamentary session. He accused Orban of sidestepping parliamentary controls “at his own pleasure”.

The co-leaders of the LMP party told a press conference that the new government would enjoy an unprecedented concentration of power both in the hands of Orban and his cabinet chief, Janos Lazar. Referring to Lazar, Bernadett Szel said “the least suitable person has been placed in the most powerful seat”. Lazar launched an “unprecedented attack” against independent sectors, the civil sector and the press, she added.

The Democratic Coalition vowed to mount “the fiercest opposition to the Orbanite world.” Ferenc Gyurcsany, the party’s leader, said in a statement that it “speaks volumes” that the government had been formed behind closed doors with almost no media presence, and it does not have a single female member.

The leftist opposition E-PM alliance said it would seek to expose the government’s “sleaze” over the next four years. Speaking at a press conference, Zsuzsanna Szelenyi said that Orban’s government had pushed Hungary’s future generations into servicing the public debt. If it carries on like this, more funding will be taken away from schools and churches, and Hungary will be pushed into further debt with the project to upgrade the Paks nuclear plant, she said. Peter Konya, a co-leader of the alliance, pledged to act as a distinctive political force which acts “fairly both in parliament and in the streets,” but will be radical if need be. They will take action against the government’s “abuse of its two-thirds majority” and “bring the opposition left into a united front,” he said.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party disagrees with the composition of the government, Janos Volner, the party’s deputy leader, told a press conference. If the government continues its policies, more and more Hungarians will emigrate and the country will fall into decay, he said.

Photo: MTI – Tamas Kovacs

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