Budapest, December 23 (MTI) – The government “does not seem to have a plan to utilise its two-thirds majority”, while the ruling parties’ loss in voter support may benefit green LMP, the latter party’s co-leader told MTI on Tuesday.
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Concerning a by-election in western Hungary’s Veszprem set for February, Schiffer affirmed that his party would field a candidate of its own, rather than support an independent candidate backed by the leftist opposition. About the election itself, at which the ruling parties could lose their supermajority in parliament, Schiffer said that its importance was “more psychological than legislative”. A possible opposition win could “accelerate the erosion of Fidesz”, he added.
On another subject, Schiffer called it important that the United States should make it clear if its authorities had shared evidence with Hungary concerning corruption charges under which Hungarian officials were banned from entering the US. It is a “fundamental national interest” for the government to dispel the suspicion that any senior official could be blackmailed in connection with those charges, he added. He also noted that fighting corruption, apart from creating jobs, was a top priority for the country.
Referring to the government’s foreign policy, the politician said that the government’s making “unmistakable gestures to semi-dictatorships in the east” was in a sharp conflict with national interests. “The government is changing a state of dependence for another kind of dependence,” he insisted.
Schiffer touched upon the European Union’s negotiating a free trade agreement with the US, and called for a stance against such a deal. He argued that an accord like that would entail “disastrous” consequences not only for Hungary but for the whole region.
Photo: MTI