Gyurcsány seen as the likely winner on the Left 

The two leading left-wing parties have already named their joint candidates in all the 106 constituencies.  Although more than 60 are MSZP nominees, a left-wing and a pro-government pundit both agree that former PM Gyurcsány’s Democratic Coalition is about to become the number one force within the left-wing opposition.

The MSZP is falling apart, Zoltán Ceglédi comments on the talks on joint candidates between the Socialists and the Democratic Coalition (see BudaPost November 6) in 168 Óra. The left-wing columnist notes that since László Botka’s resignation as candidate for PM, the MSZP’s popularity has declined further. As a result, it no longer has the upper hand in the talks with former PM Gyurcsány’s Democratic Coalition over joint candidates. At this point, Mr Gyurcsány may not want to cooperate with the MSZP at all, but would rather woo Socialist voters in order to make his party the leading force on the Left, Ceglédi suspects. In an aside, he notes that the MSZP and the Democratic Coalition cannot agree on a number of important questions, and thus it makes little sense to run jointly anyway.

In Magyar Idők, Bálint Botond contends that the MSZP has already been taken over by Ferenc Gyurcsány. The pro-government commentator finds it possible that the Socialists will not be able to run their own candidates in some single seat districts. Botond adds that the party is in chaos, that it has lost its economic hinterland, and is further weakened by infighting within the party leadership. Botond thinks that the MSZP should make a deal with minor liberal parties in order to maintain its independence and lead on the Left. If they fail to do so, they may soon have no option but to follow the Democratic Coalition’s lead and even to join the party – or drop out of Parliament, Botond predicts.

Tags: 2018, Democratic Coalition, Gyurcsány, Left, MSZP