Complaints about divisions and incompetence on the Left

Left-leaning pundits complain about the weaknesses of the left-wing opposition parties. One commentator highlights the rivalry among the different parties, while another criticizes their inability to rid themselves of corrupt, discredited politicians.

The Left is successfully ruins itself without any interference from Fidesz, while the latter watch the spectacle from their ringside seat, György Sebes writes in Népszava. Before even managing to work themselves through their electoral defeat, he points out, left-wing parties have already begun making their own lives more difficult. The Democratic Coalition (DK) of former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány is frenetically urging the other left-wing parties to organize mass protests and marches against the government. Those parties, however, are consumed by their respective internal leadership elections, so they refuse to cooperate. Sebes sees all this choreography of invitations and refusals as a sign of rivalry that may prove detrimental to the future of the entire political camp.

In a Népszabadság op-ed, Judit N. Kósa identifies a different reason to fear for the Left’s dim future, namely its inability to rid itself of discredited politicians and leaders. The columnist offers as an example György Hunvald, a second-tier leader of the Socialists, former mayor of one of Budapest’s downtown districts. Since 2009 he has been prosecuted for large-scale corruption and fraud, and the Supreme Court is expected to issue its final verdict in a couple of weeks. According to some rumors, the Socialist party might nominate him to run again for office. Kósa condemns the political “primitivism” that allows parties to even entertain the idea of designating a candidate whose greatest achievement is that his prosecution can be framed as political persecution. In her view, the electorate is expecting neither recycled old faces, nor young ones with blind loyalty to the party, but credible politicians who want to put an end to all shady business.

Tags: corruption, Gyurcsány, MSZP