Együtt-Dialogue for Hungary

Leftist parties to stage anti-govt demonstration on Saturday

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, April 10 (MTI) – Parties of the leftist opposition will hold a demonstration of “victims” of the past five years of the Fidesz-led government in central Budapest on Saturday, organisers told a press conference.

Socialist board member Karoly Beke said that the last government cycle left behind “broken tobacconists, farmers stripped of their land and people deprived of their private pension savings, as well as stranded Quaestor investors”. He said the Quaestor affair symbolised the government’s “destructive” practices including “theft, fraud, lies, eyewash and defection”.

The event is organised by the Socialists, the Democratic Coalition (DK), the Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party and the Liberal Party (MLP).

DK’s Szabolcs Kerek-Barczy urged early elections and subsequent legislation to facilitate that private assets of members of the incumbent government are used to pay compensation to victims of the “corrupted mafia cabinet”.

MLP executive Anett Bosz said that Quaestor’s investors were the victims of criminal activities, and blamed the government and its authorities for failing to prevent those developments.

Bence Tordai of PM said the National Bank’s failure concerning the Quaestor affair was clear and urged legislation to ensure compensation for the clients. He also demanded that Parliament should be dissolved due to a “moral crisis”. He insisted that the Quaestor scandal made it “obvious that the government, the central bank and the prosecutor’s office are full of criminals, accomplices and perjurers”.

Opposition criticises Fidelitas for “provocator monitoring”

Daily News Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – Parties of the leftist opposition on Wednesday demanded that Fidelitas, the youth arm of ruling Fidesz, should withdraw an initiative of “monitoring provocators”.

Earlier in the day, recently elected Fidelitas leader Laszlo Borocz called on supporters to supply the names and photos of any “left-wing provocateurs” assumed to disrupt public events.

The Y-GEN association, the youth arm of the Egyutt party, filed a criminal complaint in connection with the initiative and called on Fidelitas to observe the rule of law.

The youth organisation of the PM party called on Borocz to resign from his post, while the Democratic Coalition accused Fidesz of building a communist-style state security system.

The Young Liberals said in a statement that nobody must “intimidate people using their political rights, abuse their personal data and incite to hatred against them just because they have an opinion about the government or Fidesz policies other than that of Fidelitas”.

Socialist board member Balazs Barany called Fidelitas an “Association of Young Bolsheviks” in an open letter, and insisted that Fidelitas was seeking to set up a network of informers.

Borocz told MTI that the initiative had been designed to prevent “leftist parties in a civil disguise from disrupting any celebrations” and insisted that the move had been misinterpreted.

Anti-corruption demo in Budapest

Budapest (MTI) – An anti-corruption demonstration organised by the opposition Egyutt party was held in central Budapest on Sunday.

Egyutt politician Zsuzsanna Szelenyi told participants, estimated by the organisers to be 3,000 strong, that “corruption has been the Hungarian political cancer of the past decades.” She added that Prime Minister Viktor Orban was the “most corrupt government head” since the change in political system in 1989-1990.

Peter Juhasz, deputy leader of Egyutt, said that “the biggest problem in Hungary is not so much corruption itself but that the entire state has been stolen and swallowed up by Fidesz.” He said that Sunday’s event showed that although fragmented, opposition forces could still join together and march with ordinary people.

Juhasz said he would ask parties to join forces and organise a nationwide demonstration on March 28.

Dialogue for Hungary politician Rebeka Szabo told the crowd that laws were needed to reduce the chance of graft taking place.

The crowd behind a banner with the slogan “Let’s stop corruption” and demanding the prime minister’s resignation moved towards Oktogon along Andrassy Avenue, one side of which police had cordoned off. They carried Hungarian and EU flags.

The demonstration was joined by a politician of the Democratic Coalition and former Free Democrat lawmaker Imre Mecs.

Photo: pixabay.com

Poll – Party support unchanged with Fidesz lead

Budapest, March 4 (MTI) – Party support remained overall unchanged last month, compared with January, according to Nezopont Institute.
Fidesz and its junior allied Christian Democrats captured 26 percent in Nezopont’s entire sample, while radical nationalist Jobbik held 17 percent, both unchanged from the first month of the year. The Socialists lost one point to stand at 9 percent, whereas the Democratic Coalition inched up one point to stand at 6 percent. LMP in this group slipped two points to 4 percent and the Dialogue for Hungary (PM) held on to its 2 percent.
Among decided voters, support for Fidesz-KDNP went up two points to 42 percent and for Jobbik one point to 28 percent. The Socialists were backed by 13 percent, DK by 8 percent, LMP by 5 percent and PM by 3 percent in this group.

Respondents who preferred not to declare an opinion and non-voters accounted for 33 percent, unchanged from January, according to Nezopont. It conducted the telephone survey for Heti Valasz weekly between Feb. 21 and 24 with a representative sample of 1,000 voting-age adults.

Photo: pixabay

Opposition E-PM Party Alliance Splits

Budapest, November 10 (MTI) – The opposition Dialogue for Hungry (PM) party has decided to terminate its alliance with Together (Egyutt), PM co-leader Gergely Karacsony told news portal index.hu late on Sunday.

The two parties formed an alliance before Hungary’s parliamentary election in spring this year.

In a statement published on its Facebook page, PM said it would act as an independent political party in future, but would continue to rely on Together and “all other creditable and democratic parties” as partners.

Together leader Viktor Szigetvari, however, told Index that he considered PM’s decision “to be in conflict with earlier negotiations”. He added that his party was interested in maintaining a “loose but institutionalised partnership” with PM and said he would seek further talks on the subject.

Szigetvari told MTI that whereas it would not be possible to reform the alliance in the short term, Together would keep its doors open to PM so that the two parties may continue to work to change Hungarian politics. Dialogue for Hungary owes the activists and voters of Together, who worked over the course of three elections to get their joint representatives into parliament, the European Parliament and local councils.

Voters “one step removed from battles of domestic politics” are no longer interested in which organisation builds its identity in which form, Szigetvari said, commenting on an interview Karacsony gave earlier in the day to public radio, in which he said that PM wanted to provide an independent, green and left-wing alternative, and Together was blocking its attempts to pursue an independent policy platform.

Szigetvari said Sunday’s decision had come as a surprise to him, and he had earlier trusted the parties would institutionalise their cooperation.

US Entry Ban – Opposition Parties Call on Orban to Act on US Entry Ban

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, November 5 (MTI) – Opposition parties have called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban to immediately replace tax office (NAV) officials affected by the US entry ban.

Jozsef Tobias, head of the Socialist Party, called on tax office chief Ildiko Vida to resign after she confirmed that she was on the US blacklist, suspected of corruption. He told a news conference on Wednesday that if Vida fails to hand in her resignation then the economy minister, Mihaly Varga, should sack her without delay.

A statement by Vida confirming she was on the US blacklist is an “important but by far not sufficient” development in the case, the E-PM alliance said in a statement on Wednesday. E-PM added that Vida had insisted that “the government knew about the case”.

E-PM called on the government to reveal why “they lied, saying they had no information about the persons affected”.

Public trust in state institutions, especially the tax office, has been shaken, which is why Orban should intervene and replace the officials implicated, E-PM said.

The party also called on public prosecutor Peter Polt to start a procedure in line with a report submitted by E-PM.

E-PM’s co-leader Viktor Szigetvari told a press conference last week that Polt served the government’s political interests through his reluctance to launch an investigation in connection with the United States’ recent entry ban against Hungarian officials. He said E-PM would file a criminal complaint to force the prosecutor’s office to find out who the persons are and what cases of corruption they are linked to.

Green party LMP today called for a comprehensive screening of the tax office and urged Vida to quit her post. The party also demanded that the government take action.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party called on Vida to resign, saying it was the only way to relieve the tax office of the burden of being seen by the public as an organisation based on corruption. Asked about US charge d’affaires Andre Goodfriend raising the prospect of further bans, Jobbik lawmaker Gyorgy Szilagyi — referring to possible measures the US disapproves of — said that Hungary is a sovereign country and it should oppose any interference in its internal affairs or economy, be it plans to build gas pipelines or a nuclear power plant or intensify trade ties with other nations.

The leftist Democratic Coalition (DK) urged Orban to replace the tax office chief immediately. DK lawmaker Agnes Vadai said Vida had “exposed half the government” by saying that she had informed a government official about the ban, she said.

“Either Orban, or Varga, or [cabinet chief Janos] Lazar or [Foreign Minister Peter] Szijjarto lied when they said they had no information whatsoever about the affair,” she said.

The Hungarian Liberal Party called on Vida to resign on Wednesday. If she refuses to resign, then it is Orban’s responsibility to sack the tax office chief “embroiled in alleged corruption”, the party said in a statement.

Opposition Parties Welcome Shelving of Internet Tax

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, October 31 (MTI) – Radical nationalist Jobbik deputy leader Elod Novak has also attributed to his party that the government “backed off from behind the internet tax”.

Related article: 
Orban Says Internet Tax Cannot Be Introduced in Current Form

Novak told MTI that the government should rather make plans for introducing a basic internet service available free of charge in order to make telecommuting and electronic administration accessible to those who cannot afford Hungary’s outstandingly high internet fees in international comparison.

He said Jobbik had submitted an amendment proposal to the tax laws to finance the free internet service from ad tax revenues.

The opposition E-PM called it important that the government accepted that taxing the internet would be unwise. The party said in a statement that the tax on cafeteria and “other austerity measures” should also be withdrawn. E-PM assessed it as a victory of Hungarian citizens that “the government backed off”. The party called on the government to “respect national interests” in other areas, too, “pursue European politics, stop rubbing up to Putin, cancel the Paks2 treaty and stop going against the EU in connection with the South Stream gas pipeline”.

The opposition LMP called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban to fully and definitely withdraw the internet tax. Co-leaders Bernadett Szel and Andras Schiffer said in a statement that there is no need for national consultation about the internet tax because Hungarian have already expressed their views on it in recent days. Orban has retreated due to the huge and exemplary social protests against the internet tax but he has only delayed its introduction and will probably make another attempt at a later date. LMP said it would do everything in its power to prevent this.

Opposition parties demand to know more about alleged US entry ban for officials

Budapest, October 17 (MTI) – The opposition E-PM on Friday demanded a public inquiry to identify Hungarian citizens affected by a US entry ban linked to their alleged involvement in corruption while the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) called for an extraordinary parliamentary session on the issue. The opposition LMP party demanded parliament’s national security committee to convene.

E-PM called on the government to name the private individuals, senior tax officials, company managers and companies involved in the allegations. In a statement, the party asked the Foreign Ministry to disclose what statements were made during a meeting with the US charge d’affaires who was summoned to the ministry earlier on Friday.

E-PM also asked the ministry to confirm press reports that one of the persons banned from the US was Arpad Habony, “known as a confidant of [Prime Minister] Viktor Orban and the number one communications advisor to [ruling] Fidesz.”

DK senior official Szabolcs Kerek-Barczy told a press conference that the prime minister, the minister heading the prime minister’s office, the interior minister, the foreign minister and the economy minister are expected to confirm whether or not press reports about the US ban on officials were true and whether an investigation had been launched or was planned.

LMP co-leader Bernadett Szel said the details of the corruption allegations must be made public. She suggested that the parliamentary committee for national security should discuss the matter at its session on Monday.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, Habony’s legal representative denied that a US entry ban was in force against his client and called on media outlets that said the opposite to issue corrections.

The online version of business daily Napi Gazdasag said on Thursday that Hungarian authorities launched tax audits in certain US-affiliated organisations and companies, as a result of which the US was blocking access to entry to the US for the heads of certain authorities.

In reaction to the report, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it is in the interest of both the US and Hungary that the authorities carry out their audits thoroughly, in a transparent manner and in line with the law. Hungarian officials carry out their duties free of any pressure, the ministry said.

The US embassy told public television M1 on Thursday evening that it had no information about any Hungarian tax and customs audits against any US-affiliates in Hungary and no US counter steps had been taken as a result of any such audit.

At the same time, it said that “certain Hungarian private individuals” have been found to be ineligible for entry to the US because “credible information is available showing that these persons participated or profited from corruption activities.” US privacy protection laws prevent making the names of the affected persons available, the embassy said.

Andre Goodfriend, charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Budapest, was summoned to the Hungarian foreign ministry on Friday. The ministry asked the US diplomat to convey Hungary’s request to the US government that the US should share all verified information concerning cases in Hungary in which corruption was suspected, ministry press chief Judit Fulop said. She added that the two countries had a shared interest in investigating all such cases.

Photo: www.bigg.hu

Local Elections – Opposition Leaders Go To Polls

Budapest, October 12 (MTI) – Opposition party leaders cast their ballots in Hungary’s local elections on Sunday.

Gabor Vona, who heads radical nationalist Jobbik, went to the polls in Budapest’s 11th district on Sunday. He encouraged all voters to go to the polls, regardless of their party preference. He said the election would determine whether governing Fidesz would have a strong challenger in 2018. The left has failed, both morally and politically, and the realistic alternative to Fidesz is Jobbik, he added.

tobiasJozsef Tobias, chairman of the Socialists, cast his vote in Nyiregyhaza, in the east of the country, in the morning. “We expect victory in a number of county seats and several of the capital’s districts,” he said, also encouraging voters to make the time to get to the polls.

szigetvariE-PM co-head Viktor Szigetvari voted in Budapest’s 12th district in the morning. He said the party had been established a year and a half ago to get the most representation possible in local councils, winning mayoral races as well.

schifferLMP co-chair Andras Schiffer said after casting his vote in Budapest’s 5th district that his party was the guarantee that public assets could not be divvied up behind closed doors. Starting on Monday, the prime minister is likely to introduce austerity measures and only LMP can protect the people from it, not the “pseudo-left” parties that are “stabbing each other in the back”.

Photo: MTI – Tamas Kovacs, Attila Balazs, Zsolt Szigetvary, Lajos Soos

E-PM, DK demand probe into Kosa’s property

Daily News Hungary

(MTI) – The leftist opposition E-PM and Democratic Coalition (DK) parties have demanded an investigation into the assets of ruling Fidesz deputy leader Lajos Kosa, whose wife has been reported to own an undeclared property.

E-PM’s Levente Papa told a press conference on Wednesday, held in front of the apartment in question in north-west third district of Budapest, that his party would turn to parliament and the tax authority to launch procedures over the property which he said Kosa had not included in his asset declaration.

“Fidesz leaders do not disclose the origin of their properties; they purchase them from non-transparent sources of income,” Papa insisted, adding that it was “outrageous” that Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, had declared its holiday home at Lake Balaton to be much smaller than it actually is. Papa added that deputy PM Zsolt Semjen has also been reported in the press as owning an undeclared shooting lodge and a holiday property.

Papa said it was a “new, spreading Fidesz virus” that “larger and larger properties are obtained from oblique sources, and family assistance is cited for those sources, with a complete lack of shame”.

Andras Beres, E-PM’s candidate for district mayor, said that “Hungary has now become a country with no consequences” in which politicians can amass fortunes without giving an account of their income.

E-PM sees Navracsics EP rejection as warning for govt

Budapest, October 7 (MTI) – The European Parliament’s culture and education committee’s denial to support Hungarian designate Tibor Navracsics for commissioner of culture, education, youth and EU citizenship is a warning for the government that its policies run contrary to European values, the opposition E-PM said on Tuesday.

In a statement, E-PM board member Nora Hajdu called on the government to “return to the European path” and nominate a “worthy and suitable” candidate for commissioner.

The statement also said that Navracsics’s rejection was “clearly a failure” and called on the ruling parties to stop making it appear as a victory.

Following a hearing on Monday, the European Commission said that the committee had voted support for Navracsics as a commissioner, but did not support that he should be given the culture, education, youth and EU citizenship portfolio.

Local elections – Falus to step down as mayoral candidate in Budapest

Budapest, September 29 (MTI) – Budapest mayoral candidate Ferenc Falus announced today that he is stepping down as a candidate.

Originally put forward by the opposition E-PM party alliance, Falus was supported by the opposition Socialists and the leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) as well. He made the announcement at a press conference where Lajos Bokros, the candidate of the conservative Movement for a Modern Hungary (MoMa), was also present.

Viktor Szigetvari, co-leader of the E-PM alliance and Ferenc Gyurcsany, leader of the DK, asked their voters to support Bokros in the campaign.

Bokros said at the press conference that on October 12 the choice was “between democracy and dictatorship”. He also called Istvan Tarlos, the incumbent mayor of the ruling Fidesz party, for a TV debate.

Press reports over the past few days have suggested that Falus would withdraw from the race and back Bokros, an economist, former finance minister and now the leader of MoMa. Zsolt Greczy, spokesman for DK, told commercial ATV today morning that the party would decide at a meeting later in the day whether to back Bokros as a candidate. He said DK agreed with Bokros’s main goals, such as democracy, a market economy and expanding freedoms.

The opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party, which is a member of the E-PM alliance, told MTI after Falus’s announcement that it would not support Bokros.

“We respect Lajos Bokros, but we cannot expect the leader of the centre-right MoMa party to represent green and leftist values to the fullest,” PM said in a statement, adding that the party would seek to represent those values via its district mayor and mayoral candidates elsewhere. “Budapest voters should go to the polls on October 12 and vote on E-PM’s candidates,” the statement added.

Agnes Kunhalmi, the head of the Socialist Party‘s Budapest chapter, told MTI before Falus’s announcement that it is in the interest of “forces seeking a change” that Tarlos should have a single challenger. The Socialists would discuss if they would support Bokros as the new candidate, and on what conditions, she said.

Gergely Barandy, the head of the Socialists’ ethics committee, said that his party should not support Bokros. “If the Socialists want to stay faithful to their principles, they cannot support a politician that identifies with the right”, he said.

Andras Schiffer, co-leader of the green LMP, called it “ridiculous” that parties of the left should support Bokros, who “spent five years in an Euro-sceptic and conservative group of the European Parliament”.

Local elections – Leftist Opposition Campaign May Bring in Bokros in Budapest

Budapest, September 29 (MTI) – The leftist opposition parties are considering replacing their mayoral candidate in Budapest Ferenc Falus with conservative economist Lajos Bokros.

Zsolt Greczy, spokesman for the leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), told commerical ATV on Monday morning that the party would decide at a meeting later in the day whether to back Bokros as a candidate. He said DK agrees with Bokros’s main goals, such as democracy, a market economy and expanding freedoms.

Press reports over the past few days have suggested that Falus would withdraw from the race and back Bokros, an economist, former finance minister and now the leader of the Movement for a Modern Hungary (MoMa). Falus had been the joint candidate of the opposition E-PM party alliance, the Socialists and DK.

Bokros has a more serious political past than Falus, and he is economically better equipped, Greczy told ATV. He noted however that a possible withdrawal by Falus would have to be announced by E-PM, as the former chief medical officer was their candidate for the post first.

Photo: www.maszol.ro

Opposition Parties Call on Orban to Clarify Austerity Reports

Budapest, September 24 (MTI) – Opposition parties called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday to clarify whether press reports of a planned 1.7 trillion forint (EUR 5.5bn) austerity package over the next few years are true or not.

Gergely Karacsony, a senior member of the E-PM alliance, called on Orban to divulge whether or not the government planned to cut pensions and introduce fees for public services.

He told a press conference that Economy Minister Mihaly Varga on Tuesday had “spilt the beans about a secret plan by Viktor Orban to introduce 1,700 billion forints worth of austerity measures.”

Karacsony said Hungarian society would be unable to tolerate cutbacks on such a scale. If there is indeed such a plan, it will involve drastic pension cuts and the introduction of fees in education and health care, he added.

If Orban keeps silent about this issue, it would be tantamount to an admission, he said.

Varga told a conference on corporate financing organised by daily Napi Gazdasag that the government would stick to its budget deficit target of below 3 percent of economic output for the rest of its governing cycle. He added that budget spending needs to be gradually reduced to reach 45 percent and redistribution should be narrowed, while the year-end public debt should be continually shrunk.

According to a report by napi.hu, Varga for all intents and purposes announced budget spending cuts of 1.7 trillion forints, or 5.5 percent of economic output, in the next few years.

Erzsebet Schmuck, a lawmaker of the green party LMP said in a statement that the government’s economic policy would result in more and more austerity measures and Varga had announced spending cuts similar in size to the Bokros package, a series of austerity measures which were reviled by many Hungarians. Schmuck said Varga failed to explain why the measures would be introduced and who would be affected by them. Instead of introducing austerity measures, local farmers and small and medium-sized companies should be strengthened, she said.

Photo: MTI – Balázs Mohai

Local elections – Tarlos broke election promises, says E-PM

(MTI) – Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos has not fulfilled his election promises and has failed to represent the interests of Budapest residents, Viktor Szigetvari, co-leader of the opposition E-PM party alliance, said on Monday.

Tarlos supports Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “luxury investments” in the city without question, Szigetvari told a press conference presenting the first of “five sins” Tarlos has delivered against the city. He said Tarlos had done nothing to stop Orban’s projects, like the 100-billion-forint museum quarter planned in the Varosliget (City Park) or plans to move government offices to the Buda Castle at a cost of over 200 billion forints (EUR 640.9m).

Ferenc Falus, the mayoral candidate of the leftist opposition parties, said Tarlos had gone back on his 2009 election programme when he had promised improvements like upgrading buses and metro line 3.

Falus denied that Lajos Bokros, the mayoral candidate of the Modern Hungary Movement, had agreed to withdraw from the race and support him instead, at a meeting that took place between them earlier.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/egyuttkorszakvaltok

E-PM: Fidesz threatens to cut off funding in opposition localities

Budapest, September 17 (MTI) – The opposition E-PM alliance has called on the ruling Fidesz party to stop hinting that it would cut off development funding to localities won by opposition forces in the upcoming local elections.

Balazs Berkecz, member of the Egyutt board, told a news conference on Wednesday that reports from several localities suggested that Fidesz had made veiled threats during its campaigning for the Oct. 12 elections.

Citing two specific examples, he referred to an interview in to a local website in Siklos in the south of the country given by a former deputy chairman of Fidesz, who is reported as saying that “there’ll be help here if Fidesz wins”. He also cited campaign material of Pecs mayor Zsolt Pava which highlighted the potential advantages to locals of Fidesz holding the central reins of power.

Berkecz called on the prime minister to openly declare whether or not “in reality only Fidesz local councils will be given money”.

Left candidate’s Budapest programme would cost HUF 1,200 bn

Budapest, September 9 (MTI) – All projects included in the programme of Ferenc Falus, candidate of the leftist parties for mayor of Budapest, would cost a total 1,200 billion forints (EUR 3.8bn) to implement, Falus told MTI today.

In the interview, Falus said that though he saw the resources to finance the whole programme are available, such projects as the M3 metro line refurbishment and building P+R car parks should be “realistically achievable” priorities.

Falus also said that Budapest’s residents should be asked about priorities for city dwellers, and suggested that schemes like building new museums in the City Park or reconstructing the Ferenc Puskas Stadium could be postponed.

Download (6)The candidate insisted that of the 8,000 billion forints Hungary is expected to receive from the European Union in the current seven-years financial framework, 15-20 percent should be spent on improving the capital’s infrastructure. He argued that Budapest’s residents and ventures accounted for 40 percent of Hungary’s GDP and 60 percent of public finance, and said that “somewhat more should be spent on the city as they have done in recent years”.

Concerning public transport, Falus said he thought it pointless to renew the old trains on the M3 metro line, and suggested that new carriages should be purchased.

On another subject, Falus said that a proposed network of civil helpers could be set up through employing 800-1,000 people part time to assist public area wardens and to offer “real help” to residents like “checking on grandma at home alone”. He insisted that the system could be managed out of an annual 2 billion forints.

Photo: MTI – Tibor Illyes

 

Local Elections – PM Co-Leader Karacsony Praises Left’s Budapest Campaign

(MTI) – Gergely Karacsony, the co-chair of the leftist PM opposition party, has praised the programme announced by the candidate of the leftist parties for Budapest mayor in the upcoming municipal elections.

In his programme announced on Friday, Ferenc Falus highlighted safety, innovation, and accountability as the main features of his electoral programme.

The campaign of Falus has taken “a positive turn” and he has recently been a lot more successful in campaigning and reaching out to the public, Karacsony, a mayoral candidate for Budapest’s Zuglo district, told a press conference on Sunday.

Concerning Budapest’s central-northern Zuglo, Karacsony said his party was working for a central-left victory in the district in the Oct. 12 elections. It stands the best chance because it offers a solid alternative to the past four years of Fidesz rule, he added.

The era of the district’s incumbent Fidesz mayor and deputy mayor, Ferenc Papcsak and Zoltan Rozgonyi, has “left for us a poisonous legacy” in a number of areas of which Karacsony mentioned public safety as a major concern. He noted criminal statistics showing that the number of registered crimes had gone up by one and a half times over the past four years.

Karacsony said his party has drafted a comprehensive programme to improve public safety that includes providing service apartments to police officers free of charge who move to the district and stand at the disposal of local residents any time.

Photo: MTI – Zoltan Mathe