Under the amendment, the constitutiion would include a “state of terrorist threat” among instances that mandate the domestic deployment of the armed forces. According to LMP, however, the amendment would serve purposes other than deploying the armed forces within Hungary, Schiffer said.

LMP instead proposed that the armed forces should be made deployable by amending their constitutional status but its motion was turned down by the governing parties, he said. Schiffer said that LMP supports the interior ministry’s proposal on counter-terrorism measures. He also reaffirmed LMP’s support for the government’s draft resolution on rejecting the European Union’s mandatory migrant quotas.

The deputy leader of the leftist Democratic Coalition said the interior ministry’s counter-terrorism proposal and planned changes to the constitution would not help prevent a terrorist attack. These would only serve to build “Orbán’s terror”, Ágnes Vadai said, referring to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Vadai argued that no evidence had come to light of a terrorist threat and the government was seeking powers that “should not be granted to a democratic government, let alone the Orbán administration”. Vadai insisted that a “terrorist threat” was not clearly defined in the proposals and the government could ensure security through existing means. The ruling Fidesz party said in response that while Europe is threatened by terrorist attacks, “the Hungarian left refuses to protect the people from terrorists.”

The party called on the left to back the amendment proposals on Tuesday and to refrain from turning the security of Hungarians into a political issue. If the opposition says “no” to the government’s proposals, then they will be the ones responsible for the government not being able to guarantee public security in a time of trouble, Fidesz said.

After a parliamentary committee meeting last week, radical nationalist Jobbik MP Ádám Mirkóczki said his party was undecided about the bill, adding that Jobbik would wait to see what changes the government makes to the bill, though on balance he favoured recommending the amendment in its current form to fellow party members.

Constitutional amendments require the support of two-thirds of lawmakers.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Soós Lajos