A week ago the Congress of the Hungarian green party LMP has adopted a series of resolutions on the party’s electoral strategy for 2014, but there is still disagreement within the party on what the resolution prescribes in practice. An interview with Benedek Jávor, who has recently resigned as a parliamentary leader of the LMP.
It’s been almost a week now since the LMP Congress adopted a series of resolutions on the party’s electoral strategy for 2014, but there is still disagreement within the party on what the resolution prescribes in practice. Would you please share your interpretation with us?
The T14 resolution and the electoral strategy can only be interpreted together. The electoral strategy itself does not explicitly disallow negotiations with Together 2014. It only declares that Together 2014 cannot be treated as a strategic ally. Nor does the T14 resolution exclude discussions provided that the alliance clarifies its position on certain government policies and practices pursued in the 2002-2010 era. Now, I don’t think it’s best to enter a negotiation process by pouring the garbage bin on the table. Look at Article 5 of the electoral strategy: “We cannot consider as a strategic ally a player whose financial background is inseparable from: the oligarchic networks of the last 20 years; environmentally destructive or extremely exploitative economic activities; foreign interest groups predisposed to perpetuating Hungary’s vulnerability and the current trajectory of global capitalism.” This specific formulation makes it clear that those who tabled the article sought to pass a sort of “Lex Bajnai” preventing close cooperation with Together 2014. Perhaps even more importantly, the electoral strategy adopted by the Congress declares that LMP’s aim is to build a new political pole with Milla, Solidarity and 4K. This decision flies in the face of reality.
Because Milla and Solidarity have already signed up to an alliance with Gordon Bajnai?
Exactly. Which makes me wonder whether the originators of this decision are cynical or whether they simply don’t read the news. Anyhow, the adopted policy is that we engage in discussions with Gordon Bajnai, but without further plans for cooperation. My question is: What then is the point of negotiations?
Let’s imagine for a minute that the Congress had adopted your proposal. What would have been your agenda in the negotiation process with Together 2014?
We could have discussed a number of strategic options, ranging from a joint effort to get rid of Fidesz with a view to restoring the pivotal points of the earlier Constitution and calling new elections based on a fairer electoral law, to perhaps even governmental cooperation allowing us to realise key ecopolitical goals. But to decide this we would have first needed to talk. What makes me sad is that LMP has never been in such a strong bargaining position (and probably never will be) vis-à-vis a potential governmental force. This is not to say that I do not see any risk in such negotiations, one being that we may end up in a coalition with the Socialist Party. But I am convinced that the best strategy to prevent this would have been to start negotiations and cooperation with the alliance now. Polls show that Fidesz could have been beaten without the Socialists, since the popularity of Together 2014 and LMP (taken together) far outweighed the popularity of the Socialists and was on a par with Fidesz’s.
How can LMP contribute to the dismissal of the Orbán government under the adopted electoral strategy?
This is my main question too. For the moment, I don’t really see how, because the adopted resolutions have prevented meaningful negotiations with Together 2014.
Is there perhaps another way?
An alternative strategy could be for LMP to attempt to rally the voters which Fidesz has lost and which Gordon Bajnai cannot capture. This is what András Schiffer appears to believe in. I myself don’t find this strategy, which by the way contradicts the decision to form a pole with left-wing forces (Milla, Solidarity, 4K), appealing. Most of those who have left Fidesz’s camp will be looking for a political force capable of replacing Orbán. This means that they will literally jump over LMP and land in the leftist camp. As to those who (for whatever reason) would never vote for the left, I don’t see why they would support LMP, which has been portrayed as a liberal party in green disguise. I think they are likely to stick with Fidesz in the end. My main concern is that this strategy could contribute to Viktor Orbán staying in power. And if we don’t topple his government in 2014, then I am afraid there will be very little or no space left for an ecopolitical alternative due to the lack of fair political competition.
Why did you decide to create the Platform for Dialogue inside the party?
To represent almost half our members and the three-quarters of our supporters who, according to the polls, disagree with the adopted strategy. These people cannot be left without representation. After the Congress, many considered leaving the party, and if the Platform hadn’t been founded, I am convinced that hundreds of members and supporters would be gone by now. The Platform’s aim is to curb this emotional turmoil as much as possible. So, contrary to how it may appear, the Platform’s aim is not to disrupt the life of the party, but to prevent it from disintegrating. We will strive to initiate dialogue within the party to clarify what the adopted electoral strategy means in practice. My worry is that its in-built contradictions will lead to even more ambiguity.
Is LMP still one party? Couldn’t you extract two equally viable parts?
I don’t think that leaving the party is a real option now. Creating another opposition force would not be very helpful for unseating Orbán, especially in light of Fidesz’s carefully crafted electoral law, which punishes small parties. I would also like to avoid a scenario that voters have seen repeated all too often: incessant feuding leading to marginalisation. The common work behind us and the ecopolitical goals we share are too valuable to let this happen.I don’t think that leaving the party is a real option now. Creating another opposition force would not be very helpful for unseating Orbán, especially in light of Fidesz’s carefully crafted electoral law, which punishes small parties. I would also like to avoid a scenario that voters have seen repeated all too often: incessant feuding leading to marginalisation. The common work behind us and the ecopolitical goals we share are too valuable to let this happen.
The interview was conducted by Flóra Hevesi for the Heinrich Böll Foundation