Boris Kollár (We Are Family) remains the parliamentary chair, as Parliament failed to dismiss him from the post in a secret ballot on Tuesday. Seventy-six MPs took part in the vote with 71 votes being valid. A mere five MPs voted for Kollár's ouster, 46 were against and 20 refrained from voting. An absolute majority, meaning at least 76 votes, was required for his dismissal. It was Kollár himself who initiated the vote on his dismissal.
MPs for the co-governing Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and For the People parties didn't take part in the vote, calling on Kollár to assume political responsibility in advance. They wanted Kollár to step down on his own. They viewed Kollár's proposal for a vote on his own dismissal as placing the responsibility on them. OLaNO hasn't called for Kollár's dismissal and said that its MPs will have a free hand in the voting.
We Are Family caucus head Peter Pcolinsky before the parliamentary session said that if the House dismisses Kollár from his post, the party will quit the governing coalition. The governing coalition currently has 95 seats in Parliament. If We Are Family quit the government, the coalition would have only 78 seats. The Government would thus lose a constitutional majority, but would not fall and could continue to function.
Kollár is facing suspicions of plagiarism regarding his diploma thesis. He maintains that he gained his Master's degree in a lawful manner and doesn't intend to use it in politics any longer.
