In Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány rejected a call from Democratic Forum chairwoman Ibolya Dávid to seek a vote of confidence. Gyurcsány did not directly address the question in his reply, instead focussing on a new phase of governing. He said 2008 will be a year of peaceful turnaround, in which nurseries, kindergartens and motorways will be built and schools will be renovated.
Five new ministers were sworn in at the start of Monday’s session: Pál Szabó for Infrastructure, Energy and Transport; Tamás Székely in Health; Erika Szűcs for Labour and Social Affairs; Imre Szabó for Environment and Communications; and Károly Molnár as minister without portfolio for science policy.
Only the Socialists supported the new cabinet structure in a debate in Parliament Monday evening. Fidesz, the Christian Democrats, the Democratic Forum and the newly oppositional Free Democrats were against it.
Fidesz caucus leader Tibor Navracsics said in his contribution that credibility, predictability and stability are missing in Hungary’s policies, and this is the only EU country which cannot meet the Maastricht criteria.
The government has no platform, he said, as the coalition has collapsed. “What you have failed to accomplish in a majority, will not succeed in a minority,” he declared.
Calling for national consensus, Navracsics said the Prime Minister himself is an obstacle to that.
Gyurcsány spoke about a rise in pensions in the past six years and in the purchasing power of average incomes. Opposition MPs followed his remarks with loud laughter.
Free Democrat chairman János Kóka said his party will support all proposals that serve an upswing of the economy and help solve the problems of the economy. He again called for tax cuts. No one responded on the part of the government, but Fidesz MPs gave him a round of applause.
Of course he wouldn’t call a confidence vote for the same reason he doesn’t want to call early elections: he wouldn’t win either.
Hungarian constitution Article 39/A paragraph
(3) “The Government, via the Prime Minister, may propose a vote of confidence…”
Hungarian constitution Article 39/A paragraph
(1) “A motion of no-confidence in the Prime Minister may be initiated by a written petition, which includes the nomination for a candidate for the office of Prime Minister, by no less than one-fifth of the Members of Parliament…”
Conclusion, Fidesz, or any other group of 20% of all MPs can ask for a vote of no-confidence for the current PM every week if they wanted. So why do they not do that?
Can maybe the answer be the totally opposite from what Hatodik Oszlop claims? Or is the opposition so stupid?
Actually, Viking, the answer is quite simple. Prior to the coalition collapse, the government would vote confidence in favor of Gyurcsany (as they did in 2006), thus making the whole exercise pointless. Even today, with SZDSZ in “opposition,” there’s no one person the opposition parties could agree upon to replace him with, hence no no-confidence vote.
Unless you favor them turning in a time-wasting no-confidence petition on a weekly basis.
pontosan!
Well, at the time of the confidence vote in 2006 Fidesz complained that it was not a no-confidence vote, which they of course could have had done.
Now they are complaining that it is no vote at all, even if they could make a petition for no-confidence vote.
I am not so sure that SZDSZ would vote no in a new vote of confidence in the current Govt. The result of a negative outcome of a no-confidence/confidence vote is the same: The Govt must resign and the President have 40 days to find a new PM, which of course could be Gyurcsány again. First if the President fails in these 40 days there will be new elections.
And the Parliament approved the new ministers, so there you have the vote of confidence in practice.
In 2006 Gyurcsany called a vote of confidence, not one of no confidence. And since the opposition can’t agree upon a replacement, there is little point in their forcing one.
Hatodik Oszlop wrote: “In 2006 Gyurcsany called a vote of confidence”.
Yes, that is what I wrote, but Fidesz at that time in 2006 complained that it should have been a vote of no-confidence, which they can submit at any time.
Now they complain that there is no vote of confidence, when the new ministers were approved by a majority of the Parliament.
Why should the Parliament now vote differently in a vote of confidence? You obviously think that, I do not understand your logic. Do you really think that all the MPs from MSZP and SZDSZ would risk a new election today if they could choose in a vote of confidence (or in any other way)?
Of course Gyurcsány would win any vote of confidence today in this Parliament at the current situation. The majority of the MPs voting for him would probably not get in the next Parliament if it was to be elections this year, so they have no interest whatsoever to go against Gyurcsány right now.
This Parliament will only throw out Gyurcsány when the MSZP-MPs have another PM to propose. Right now they are far away from that.