The case of Mayor Ádám Mirkóczki and the city administration of Eger is a good example of why the only guarantee of the opposition coming to power, unity, is not viable. In theory, of course, it may seem like an attractive idea, because it is so "democratic", diversity can contain creative power, but if necessary, it can also serve as a counterweight, and wow, how cool is all of this; in theory. It's just not viable in practice.
Sun Ce, in his work on military science, now ennobled as a philosophy, writes that
"unhappy is the fate of him who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without keeping before his eyes the essence of the whole enterprise; because the result is just wasting time and stumbling around."
Well, in Eger, what the Chinese general put down on paper about two and a half thousand years ago literally happened: stomping on the spot following a won battle. And the reason for this is that the winners did not keep in mind the essence of the enterprise - the management and care of the city. However, the essence of their business - their promise - was not just the empty slogan of O1G. At least according to their campaign. Of course, a poor person is one who can't even promise - goes the saying, and there is never a shortage of promises.
As it is known , the United for the City Association (EVE), which gathered local opposition politicians and gained a majority in the 2019 local government election - but lost it in the meantime - excluded the former mayor of Jobbik from his presidency. The majority of members present at the meeting
"He considered that the statements he made in recent months were not in line with the goals and values of the association. As a member of the association, we count on your constructive cooperation in the future."
The next day, Mirkóczki left the faction, and he justified his decision by saying that
"the various actors of the opposition parties are not able to leave the logic of party politics, even in the interest of the city".
The feud has been going on practically since the elections, and a year later, in October 2020, the EVE faction lost its majority in the local government because an LMP and a temporary representative left it. At that time, they pointed to the mayor's style as the reason for their decision, complained that Mirkóczki does not want to accept any kind of internal control, is not interested in points of view different from his own, and is building a leader-centered system just like the one maintained by Fidesz nationally. And on Wednesday of this week, the faction split further when, along with Mirkóczki, three more left it. Bring it to you Eger.
Not surprisingly, it was a problem for the mayor that there were people within the ten-member opposition bloc who believed that
"everyone has the same authority, so the mayor has no more authority than anyone else, even though I bear the responsibility for everything. And they thought that it could only be what we essentially support in unison. But it led to total dysfunction.”
On the part of the opposition, the previously deposed deputy mayor, Zita Mirkóczki, a local prominent member of the MSZP - this distant relative played the role of mayor behind the elected mayor's back - commented on the situation as follows:
"That fall, we asked for authorization to imagine the management of the city of Eger together with the residents of the city, involving the civil and professional sphere in certain decisions. We wanted to do it differently than Fidesz did for 13 years. Basically, we have a debate about values and the concept of democracy. The opposition parties now form a very strong community, all problems can be solved with a lot of negotiation and negotiation, and by observing the basic rules of democracy."
However, the essence was formulated by Csaba Komlósi, the LMP representative who is leaving in 2020, who says that the mayor is largely responsible for the deterioration of the situation, since, contrary to his promise, he did not make the city management democratic ,
"during a faction meeting, e.g. announced that we should learn from Fidesz that what the boss says is true!"
Can't we feel the bouquet of unity? Like when the members of a ship's crew almost all imagine themselves to be the captain, even those who otherwise have no idea where the wind is blowing from, they are only sure that it blows democratically, and they have only one thing in common, the inability to simultaneously to row in a direction.
This is how our opposition coalition stands, in a small way as well as in a big way.
Of course, avoiding failure is still an alternative, and the opposition city leaders are using it, led by the biggest one, I mean in centimetres, because it's good to point the finger at the government; withdrawals, bleeding, diarrhea. I note that I do not remember that anyone, including the Good Lord, guaranteed that it would be an easy ride. That there won't be a single obstacle to overcome, there won't be an epidemic, the Chain Bridge won't fall into the Danube (if we proceed this way), and the city administration will only talk about painting bike lanes and writing Facebook posts. No one promised this.
On the other hand, we can be certain that if the opposition coalition comes to power, we will not get away with "wasting time and stomping around"; an unhappy fate awaits most of us, 99 percent of us to be exact.
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