Opposition announces schedule for primaries

The main 6 Opposition parties have announced the schedule for their autumn primaries. The two-round election will be held in September and October. They have also agreed to allow online voting.

In an overview of opinion polls on the popularity of the rival opposition candidates on Index, Márton Sándor Németh thinks that Jobbik’s Péter Jakab and Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony (who has not yet announced his candidacy) have the highest chances of becoming the leader of the opposition coalition in the 2022 Parliamentary election. Németh points out that Democratic Coalition candidate, Klára Dobrev is also very popular, but her rejection rate is very high among sympathizers of other opposition parties. Németh believes, however, that it is nearly impossible to predict who will win in the end.

Magyar Nemzet’s Imre Csekő suggests that all opposition candidates want to win the support of radical left-wing voters who are most likely to participate in the primaries. Csekő predicts that each candidate will try to mobilize their supporters through harsh anti-Orbán rhetoric and the use of promises nostalgically reminiscent of the late Kádár era – namely, by pledging increased welfare spending.

Tags: Dobrev, Jakab, Karácsony, opposition