(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Schiffer told his party’s steering board Monday evening that he would resign as party co-chair as of June 1 and return his mandate as a member of Parliament on August 31, index.hu reported yesterday.  

Schiffer said “the current parliamentary cycle has clearly demonstrated that we do not have the intellectual atmosphere for pursuing politics that criticize the system.” He told Hungarian online daily index.hu that it was a sad fact that in neighboring countries such civil movements had a “much stronger footing” than they do here, noting that “this country has not had a general strike since 1989.”

“Whatever a party can do, LMP has done,” Schiffer was quoted as saying. “We have made it clear what is to be rejected from the past 25 years. We have not managed to demonstrate what we want in the next 25 years.”

Schiffer said he would not participate in any election in 2018-2019. He said he would go back to his previous profession and work as an attorney, but remain a member of LMP. He added he would assist the party in its future activities through a foundation.

Bernadett Szél was co-leader of the party with Schiffer. She said in an interview with index.hu today that a new co-leader will be chosen by the partyʼs congress over the summer.