Opposition primary in the home stretch

A day before the closing of the Budapest mayoral primary, a pro-government and a left-wing commentator offer diametrically opposed assessments of the candidates as well as their merits.

Magyar Nemzet’s Ferenc Kis thinks that all the left-wing Budapest mayoral candidates are unqualified for the job. The pro-government commentator lambasts each for what he calls their irresponsible promises, including basic income support, and a real estate tax on the top one percent. Kis hopes that none of them will even come close to winning the Autumn municipal election.

Népszava’s Miklós Hargitai finds the turnout of the left-wing primary reassuring. He reads the disputes between the opposition candidates as proof that they have alternative policy visions. The left-wing pundit continues by noting that dispute and discussion is normal business in politics, despite efforts by pro-government commentators to interpret this as a mere demagogic stunt. Hargitai claims that voters support the opposition candidates for their policy ideas, as opposed to pro-government voters who would blindly vote for any Fidesz candidate served up to them.

Tags: Budapest, Left, opposition