Opposition infighting in run-up to the Primary 2nd round
October 6th, 2021A left-wing pundit is saddened by the accusations hurled at each other by the two sides, as the runner-up and the number three stand together to challenge the winner of the first round.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony and Péter Márky-Zay, the Mayor of Hódmezővásárhely have announced that they intend to run together for the title of opposition front-runner. The head of the civic committee in charge of the primary told Klub Radio that they will not be allowed to run in tandem with both their names side by side on the ballot as they have requested. Meanwhile, the two camps have been trading barbs on social media sites. The Karácsony/ Márky-Zay side argues that Ms Dobrev is unlikely to be a successful challenger to PM Orbán, given her husband’s (DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány’s) divisive image, while Ms Dobrev’s followers accuse those who ‘are plotting behind closed doors’ of dividing the opposition. (See BudaPost, October 4.) The second round of the primary will start next Sunday and will last 7 days.
In Népszava, Róbert Friss fears that the row preceding the second round of the primary threatens to ruin the positive image the opposition forces have built of themselves with the first round. Without mentioning the Democratic Coalition (DK) by name, he criticises those who consider it unfair to forge alliances between the two rounds and takes that view as an expression of the lack of a democratic tradition. His main concern, however, is that the sides are showing intolerance towards each other which might fatally affect the chances of the opposition in next year’s general election. Friss urges the opposition parties to unconditionally support whoever wins the primary and speed up efforts to devise a programme the opposition parties will pledge to implement once in government.