Miért nincs szükségünk második kamarára?
Why Do We not Need a Second Chamber in the Hungarian Parliament?

Summary/Abstract: Inspired by the current Constitution-making process in Hungary, the article analyses the possible compositions of a second parliamentary chamber: 1. the aristocratic, 2. the federal, 3. the corporative one, 4. the one consisting either of civil society organisations or 5. of local government representatives, 6. the directly elected second chamber, and 7. finally, the one assembling honourable scientists, artists or retired politicians. It reaches the conclusion that a second chamber in Hungary is either unrealistic or undesirable, thus the current unicameral structure should remain in Hungary in the future. According to the author, the idea of having a second chamber in the current Hungarian debate reflects two strands of thought: on the one hand, the mentality of the People’s Front of the Hungarian 80s (“the society as represented by civil organisations and trade unions is good, the political party/parties are bad in politics”), on the other hand, a nostalgia for the time before the Second World War (with its half corporative, half aristocratic second chamber). A successful modern constitutional system, however, is based rather on clear democratic accountability and on strong institutions protecting the rule of law (ordinary and administrative courts, constitutional court), which are difficult to accommodate with the two aforementioned strands of thought. According to the author, Hungary should concentrate rather on these principles than on creating a new and questionable second chamber.

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