Washington D.C.: On January 23rd, The German Marshall Fund of the United States hosted a luncheon roundtable discussion with Attila Mesterházy, Chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP). Mr. Mesterházy’s remarks aimed at the question: “Quo Vadis Hungary: Are Democracy and Good Governance in Danger?” The luncheon was attended by 55 people, including government officials, members of academia and representatives from organizations across an array of sectors.

Mr. Mesterházy openly discussed his views on the future of Hungarian leadership and how, if elected, the MSZP would address the current problems of the country. In 2010, Hungary’s right of center Fidesz party won a large majority in the parliamentary elections, ousting the Socialist government that had been in power for the previous eight years. Viktor Orban, Prime Minister and leader of the Fidesz party embarked on a controversial overhaul of the Hungarian constitution and a host of new legislation. With elections scheduled for 2014 and thousands of Hungarians protesting recent government decisions, the political situation in the country is highly fluid. Mr. Mesterházy stated that the MSZP intends to address what they term the four present crises of Hungary: democratic, economic, social and political. To first address the democratic crisis, Mesterházy discussed the need for improvement of checks and balances in government that he claimed had been undermined by Fidesz, as well as the standardization of the rule of law across the country. With regard to the economic crisis, Mesterházy proposed a return back to the fundamentals of market economy and the abolishment of sectorial taxation, both with the goal of boosting job creation and strengthening the trust in the Hungarian political and economic system needed to attract foreign investment. To alleviate the social crisis, Mesterházy suggested focusing on eliminating poverty, bolstering the middle class, improving education and career prospects for young people, and confronting the mistreatments of the Roma population. Lastly, Mesterházy said he planned to tackle the political crisis by taking a consensual approach to constitutional questions, improving credibility and stability, and constructing a government that is based on cooperation and dialogue. The discussion concluded with a question and answer session that covered the issues of media freedom, social programming and its longevity, foreign investment and economic policy, and civil society. A particular question on how the new MSZP agenda compares with that of its Socialist predecessors and specifically how the new MSZP leadership intends to correct the party’s past mistakes as they move toward elections drew a series of remarks from Mr. Mesterházy in which he frankly admitted the severity of the past MSZP government’s shortcomings. The program concluded with Mr. Mesterházy acknowledging that governmental transparency, interparty collaboration and public involvement are what Hungary needs to firmly cement its democratic roots.