A politikai felelősség
Political Responsibility

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the present paper is to offer an interpretation of the practice of holding people politically responsible. The starting point of the analysis is a widely accepted concept of moral responsibility, which is of the view that holding someone responsible for something means that the thing in question may be rightfully taken into account in the moral assessment of the person. Analogously, it may be maintained that to hold a political leader politically responsible for some condition means that the condition in question may be rightfully taken into account in the political assessment of that person. Under the circumstances of democratic politics, the “political assessment” of a person may be understood in two dimensions. First, how successful he is in achieving his goals within the existing political framework, and second, to what extent his conduct helps maintain the existing democratic framework. A negative judgement in the first dimension implies that the person is not fit for his office, while a negative judgement in the second dimension means that he is not worthy of the office.

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