main opposition Fidesz on Tuesday called on the government not to appoint new ambassadors before the next general election, Fidesz deputy Zsolt Nemeth told reporters.
Fidesz has been informed that the government is planning to appoint new ambassadors to posts of strategic importance such as NATO, the European Union and the United Nations, Nemeth said.
The government and the minority governing Socialist Party are preparing to “occupy” the diplomatic corps, said Nemeth. Fidesz will not support newly appointed ambassadors or “take any responsibility” for those diplomats if it wins the next election, he added.
Fidesz’s maneouvres will weaken Hungary’s capability to represent itself in international bodies, Deputy Foreign Minister Marta Fekszi Horvath said at a session of parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Tuesday.
The deputy minister said that the proposals fell within the normal timeframe for making such appointments.
She added that Hungary’s interests abroad would be represented far more strongly if the political parties showed unity on matters touching the country’s interests abroad.
Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said Nemeth’s task as chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee was not to go into party political commentaries. “I consider it a violation of the interests of Hungary’s foreign policy if someone weakens the confidence in our ambassadors instead of boosting it,” Gyurcsany said. The chairman of the foreign affairs committee should assess the professional skills of the ambassador nominees and help them, he added. Ambassadors must represent Hungary and not just one party or another, said Gyurcsany.
