The prime minister sees Saturday’s National Summit – convened to explore options amidst the global financial crisis – as a chance to start rebuilding across-the-political-aisle cooperation.
Three of four opposition parties think the meeting is senseless and want the government to do something to control the effects of the crisis instead of holding monster-meetings, while the fourth, tiny conservative Democratic Forum thinks the move is encouraging.
Writing in his blog, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany called the summit, which he initiated, one of he most important consultations in months and a chance to show the country that their elected leaders and government can dialogue in a situation like this.
Main opposition Fidesz party chair Viktor Orban, who has said he would attend, added that in his view one more meeting is not going to resolve any problems. Instead, it will let the government dilute its own ineptitude, he said. Fidesz and Christian Democrat leaders have called the summit “a senseless PR action.”
The liberal Free Democrats say the country needs immediate action and not another meeting. The FreeDems and Fidesz say President Laszlo Solyom was correct to reject the invitation, giving the argument that “that is not how a government works.” FreeDem leader Gabor Fodor told Thursday’s nationwide daily Nepszabadsag that Solyom is not just the country’s president but is also one of its most prominent constitutional law scholars and was completely right to point out that the government and not an ad hoc committee is the responsible party.
Democratic Forum chair Ibolya David warned against hoping for a quick fix but said she firmly believed the economic and science experts attending the summit could shape opinions and move the political parties closer to objectivity.
Senior Fidesz official Lajos Kosa said the only reason they were attending was to escape charges of not caring what happens to the country. David suggested that another reason for opposition attendance was to push their own agendas. Fidesz’s Orban has already voiced his objections to the government proposal and will be demanding spending cuts. The liberals want spending cuts, tax cuts for small businesses, and a specific euro introduction date.
Western powers are struggling; /as they claim/ they don’t know how it happened? – But they will solve it!! Same as the Fidesz; they are all living in the cloud of cuckoo land.
Bailout or no bailout, nothing will help w/o strict rules!!! You can call it whatever you want “dictatorship” … etc… YES FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS WILL HAVE TO IMPLEMENT a little bit of it, sorry!!
I do not see meaningful co-operation between parties in Hungary, especially crisis times, oh yes, finger pointing w/o any concrete solution(s), that’s about it. How can the shadow government issue a statement that the PM is responsible for the financial crises? Were they in powers prior years? …. What did they do? … What have they accomplished? “should of, would of, could of”??