Govt expected to initiate another national consultation
(MTI) – The government is expected to find out where Hungarians stand on issues in another national consultation, perhaps even before general election in the spring, daily Nepszabadsag said on yesterday.
The government has sought Hungarians’ opinions on matters of national importance in surveys mailed to homes earlier, too.
The issues the latest national consultation will focus on have not yet been decided. But the paper learnt the government wants to target mothers with young children and families preparing to have children.
The Prime Minister’s Office told the paper a detailed announcement on the matter would be made next week.
The paper noted that more than 1.5 billion forints (EUR 5m) has been allocated in this year’s budget for such consultations.
Photo: MTI/hir24.hu
Registration open for EU citizens to vote at EP election in Hungary
Budapest, January 3 (MTI) – European Union citizens living in Hungary can already declare whether they will vote here or in their home country at the European parliamentary elections scheduled for May 22-25.
Under the relevant Hungarian regulations, elections can only be held on Sunday so the vote in Hungary will take place on May 25.
The nearly 100,000 non-Hungarian EU citizens who have a registered address in Hungary can register to vote locally until 16 days prior to the election. Once the requests are registered, the national election offices in individual countries send this information to each other in order to prevent any individual from voting in more than one country.
At the 2009 European parliamentary election, some 5,600 foreign nationals from over 100,000 registered to vote in Hungary.
Photo: dailynewshungary.com
Support for main Hungarian parties in December
(MTI) – Support for political parties in Hungary in December, gauged by pollsters Ipsos, Tarki, Nezopont, Szazadveg and Median on representative samples:
IN THE WHOLE SAMPLE
Ipsos Tarki Nezopont Szazadveg Median
------------------------------------------------------------
Fidesz-KDNP 26 28 36 31 37
MSZP (Socialists) 15 11 10 15 13
Jobbik 7 8 10 8 10
E14-PM alliance* 3 4 6 4 5
LMP 2 3 3 2 2
Dem. Coalition** 2 4 3 4 4
AMONG DECIDED VOTERS***
Ipsos Tarki Nezopont Szazadveg Median
------------------------------------------------------------
Fidesz-KDNP 47 47 40 52 52
MSZP (Socialists) 27 19 12 23 18
Jobbik 12 14 11 13 14
E14-PM alliance* 6 7 7 4 8
LMP 2 4 4 2 1
Dem. Coalition** 3 7 4 4 6
* Non-parliamentary electoral alliance of Together 2014 and Dialogue for Hungary (E14-PM).
** Lawmakers of the Democratic Coalition are formally listed as independent MPs.
*** The threshold for a party to win parliamentary seats is 5 percent of votes cast on its list.
Roma Party asks voters not to register as member of minority for 2014 election
Budapest, December 30 (MTI) – Hungary’s Roma Party (MCP) has called on voters belonging to one of Hungary’s 13 official minorities not to register themselves as minority voters but to vote as a Hungarian citizen in the next general election.
Ferenc Horvath, a member of the MCP’s presidium, told a press conference on Monday that if registered as a minority voter, it is not possible to vote for a party list, an issue which the party claims unconstitutional. Horvath said they had turned to the president and the ombudsman for basic rights over this issue but have not received answers to their concern.
He called on minority members not to fill in the registration forms to be sent out in January because they will not have a chance “to shape the country’s future”.
Members of Hungary’s 13 official minorities will be asked to register as of Jan. 1, which will allow them to vote for an individual candidate and a minority list (instead of a political party list).
Photo: c-press.hu
Vona: Jobbik to surprise at 2014 election
Budapest, December 18 (MTI) – Radical nationalist Jobbik will surprise at next year’s general election, leader Gabor Vona said on Wednesday.
Jobbik plans to focus on positive messages and presenting its programme during the campaign instead of the “mudslinging” of ruling Fidesz and the main opposition Socialists.
Jobbik wants to present a viable alternative that is able to govern for all citizens who have become disillusioned in the ruling parties of the past 23 years, he said, adding that such citizens now represent the majority.
Jobbik is the only party that dares stating what the real problems are and can also resolve them, Vona said.
Jobbik has selected its 106 individual candidates and party director Gabor Szabo has been elected as campaign chief, just like in 2010, he said.
Photo: MTI – Noémi Bruzák
POLL – Party preferences stagnant
Budapest, December 18 (MTI) – With the exception of ruling party Fidesz, voter support for all Hungarian parties remained stagnant in December, according to a survey by Ipsos published on Wednesday.
Backing for Fidesz dropped a percentage point to 26 percent among all voters while the main opposition Socialist party scored 15 percent. Radical nationalist party Jobbik was favoured by 7 percent, E14-PM by 3 percent, and the Democratic Coalition (DK) and LMP notched up 2 percent each.
Ipsos said there are 2.5 million voters out of a total of around 8 million who indicated an intention to cast their ballots.
Among decided voters, 47 percent backed Fidesz and 27 favoured the Socialists. Jobbik mustered 12 percent while E14-PM had 6 percent. DK and LMP were on 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Ipsos said 43 percent of its sample were uncommitted to any party.
Fidesz-Christian Democrats announce list of individual candidates
(MTI) – The ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrats party alliance has finalised its list of individual candidates for next year’s parliamentary election and published the list of 106 names on the Fidesz website on Monday.
The number of MPs will drop from the current 386 to 199 in the new parliament. Of these, 93 will be elected from party lists and the remaining 106 in individual constituencies.
Of the Fidesz-Christian Democrats individual candidates, 96 are also members of the current parliament. They include Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Justice Tibor Navracsics, fielded in his hometown of Veszprem, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, Janos Lazar, running in Hodmezovasarhely where he was previously mayor, and Fidesz group leader Antal Rogan, running in central Budapest.
Defence Minister Csaba Hende, Fidesz deputy-head Lajos Kosa, Economy Minister Mihaly Varga also run as individual candidates.
City – Electoral district – Candidate
Pécs – Baranya 01. vk. – Péter Csizi
Pécs – Baranya 02. vk. – Péter Tamás Hoppál
Mohács – Baranya 03. vk. – János Hargitai
Szigetvár – Baranya 04. vk. – Zsolt Tiffán
Kecskemét – Bács 01. vk. – László Salacz
Kecskemét – Bács 02. vk. – Gábor Zombor
Kalocsa – Bács 03. vk. – Sándor Font
Kiskunfélegyháza – Bács 04. vk. Lezsák Sándor
Kiskunhalas – Bács 05. vk. – Gábor Bányai
Baja – Bács 06. vk. – Róbert Zsigó
Békéscsaba – Békés 01. vk. – Gyula Vantara
Békés – Békés 02. vk. – Béla Dankó
Gyula – Békés 03. vk. – József Kovács
Orosháza – Békés 04. vk. – György Simonka
Miskolc – Borsod 01. vk. – Katalin Csöbör
Miskolc – Borsod 02. vk. – László Sebestyén
Ózd – Borsod 03. vk. – Gábor Riz
Sajószentpéter – Borsod 04. vk. – Zoltán Demeter
Sátoraljaújhely – Borsod 05. vk. Hörcsik Richárd
Tiszaújváros – Borsod 06. vk. – Roland Mengyi
Mezőkövesd – Borsod 07. vk. – András Tállai
I., V., VIII., IX. kerület – Budapest 01. vk. – Antal Rogán
XI. kerület – Budapest 02. vk. – István Simicskó
II., XI., XII. kerület – Budapest 03. vk. – János Fónagy
II., III. kerület – Budapest 04. vk. – Mihály Varga
VI., VII. kerület – Budapest 05. vk. – Monika Mária Rónaszékiné Keresztes
VIII., IX. kerület – Budapest 06. vk. – Imre Vas
XIII. kerület – Budapest 07. vk. – Péter Szalay
XIV. kerület – Budapest 08. vk. – Ferenc Papcsák
XIX. kerület – Budapest 09. vk. – István György
III. kerület – Budapest 10. vk. – Erzsébet Menczer
IV., XIII. kerület – Budapest 11. vk. – Antal Gábor Hollósi
IV., XV. kerület – Budapest 12. vk. – Tamás László
XIV., XVI. kerület – Budapest 13. vk. – Kristóf Szatmáry
X., XVII. kerület – Budapest 14. vk. – Mónika Dunai
XVIII. kerület – Budapest 15. vk. – László Kucsák
XIX., XX. kerület – Budapest 16. vk. – Gyula Földesi
XXI., XIII. kerület – Budapest 17. vk. – Szilárd István Németh
XI., XXII. kerület – Budapest 18. vk. Attila Szabolcs
Szeged – Csongrád 01. vk. – Zsolt Bohács
Szeged – Csongrád 02. vk. B. – László Nagy
Szentes – Csongrád 03. vk. – Sándor Farkas
Hódmezővásárhely – Csongrád 04. vk. – János Lázár
Székesfehérvár – Fejér 01. vk. – Tamás Vargha
Székesfehérvár – Fejér 02. vk. – Gábor Törő
Bicske – Fejér 03. vk. – Zoltán Tessely
Dunaújváros – Fejér 04. vk. – Dénes Galambos
Sárbogárd – Fejér 05. vk. Gábor Varga
Győr – Győr 01. vk. – Róbert Balázs Simon
Győr – Győr 02. vk. – Ákos Kara
Csorna – Győr 03. vk. – Alpár Gyopáros
Sopron – Győr 04. vk. – Mátyás Firtl
Mosonmagyaróvár – Győr 05. vk. – István Nagy
Debrecen – Hajdú 01. vk. Kósa Lajos
Debrecen – Hajdú 02. vk. Pósán László
Debrecen – Hajdú 03. vk. Tasó László
Berettyóújfalu – Hajdú 04. vk. Vitányi István József
Hajdúszoboszló – Hajdu 05. vk. Bodó Sándor
Hajdúböszörmény – Hajdú 06. vk. Tiba István Csaba
Eger – Heves 01. vk. – Zsolt Nyitrai
Gyöngyös – Heves 02. vk. – László Horváth
Hatvan – Heves 03. vk. – Zsolt Szabó
Szolnok – Jász 01. vk. – Ildikó Bene
Jászberény – Jász 02. vk. – János Pócs
Karcag – Jász 03. vk. – Sándor Fazekas
Törökszentmiklós – Jász 04. vk.- István Boldog
Tatabánya – Komárom–Esztergom 01. vk. – János Bencsik
Esztergom – Komárom–Esztergom 02. vk. – Pál Völner
Komárom – Komárom–Esztergom 03. vk. – Judit Bertalan
Salgótarján – Nógrád 01. vk. – Zsolt Becsó
Balassagyarmat – Nógrád 02. vk. – Mihály Balla
Érd – Pest 01. vk. – András Aradszki
Budaörs – Pest 02. vk. – Zsolt Csenger-Zalán
Szentendre – Pest 03. vk. – Sándor Hadházy
Vác – Pest 04. vk. – Péter Harrach
Dunakeszi – Pest 05. vk. – Bence Tuzson
Gödöllő – Pest 06. vk. – László József Vécsey
Vecsés – Pest 07. vk. – Lajos Szűcs
Szigetszentmiklós – Pest 08. vk. – Zoltán Bóna
Nagykáta – Pest 09. vk. – György Czerván
Monor – Pest 10. vk. – Tibor János Pogácsás
Dabas – Pest 11. vk. – Károly Pánczél
Cegléd – Pest 12. vk. – László Földi
Kaposvár – Somogy 01. vk. – Attila Gelencsér
Barcs – Somogy 02. vk. – László Szászfalvi
Marcali – Somogy 03. vk. – József Attila Móring
Siófok – Somogy 04. vk. – Mihály Witzmann
Nyíregyháza – Szabolcs 01. vk. – Attila Petneházy
Nyíregyháza – Szabolcs 02. vk. – Győző Vinnai
Kisvárda – Szabolcs 03. vk. – Miklós Seszták
Vásárosnamény – Szabolcs 04. vk. – Attila Tilki
Mátészalka – Szabolcs 05. vk. – Sándor Kovács
Nyírbátor – Szabolcs 06. vk. – Miklós Simon
Szekszárd – Tolna 01. vk. – István Horváth
Dombóvár – Tolna 02. vk. – Árpád János Potápi
Paks – Tolna 03. vk. – Ferenc Hirt
Szombathely – Vas 01. vk. – Csaba Hende
Sárvár – Vas 02. vk. – Péter Ágh
Körmend – Vas 03. vk. – Zsolt V. Németh
Veszprém – Veszprém 01. vk. – Tibor Navracsics
Balatonfüred – Veszprém 02. vk. – Károly Kontrát
Tapolca – Veszprém 03. vk. – Jenő Lasztovicza
Pápa – Veszprém 04. vk. – Zoltán Kovács
Zalaegerszeg – Zala 01. vk. – László Vigh
Keszthely – Zala 02. vk. – Jenő Manninger
Nagykanizsa – Zala 03. vk. – Péter Cseresnyés
A quarter of Hungarians never go to polls – think-tank
Budapest, December 4 (MTI) – Around 2 million people, or around 20 percent of Hungarian voting-age adults, never cast their ballots and another 5-20 percent stay away from one or two elections, a paper by Policy Solutions, a think-tank, shows.
While participation at ballots is 70-80 percent on average in Germany, this ratio in Hungary is 60-70 percent, Jan Niklas Engels, an associate at the Budapest Friedrich Ebert Foundation, a co-sponsor of the study, told a conference on Tuesday.
The most important motivation for casting ballots is ideological commitment, Tamas Boros of Policy Solutions said, commenting on the European Social Survey research conducted in 2012. Voters aligned with the right tend to turn out more than of those on the left, he said. He noted that the research upturned the conventional wisdom. Neither financial background, origin, nor location tended to determine voting habits in Hungary.
Voting activity is lowest among younger adults and higher among those who have completed higher education.
Representatives of pollsters at the event agreed that disillusioned Fidesz-KDNP voters would not turn to the parties on the left.
Aniko Bernat, of Tarki, said that ruling Fidesz is the most successful in reaching out to the unaligned. Most active are older, religious voters with higher degrees and solid finances, she said.
Tibor Zavecz, of Ipsos, said the main opposition Socialists have not lost voters with the emergence of splinter party DK of former premier Ferenc Gyurcsany and the E14-PM electoral alliance of ex-PM Gordon Bajnai, since these appeal mostly to the liberal voters.
Kornelia Magyar, of the Progressive Institute, said the left has so far been unable to appeal to undecided voters. She said it was surprising that the green parliamentary LMP party had failed to reach out to fence-sitters.
Agoston Mraz, of Nezopont Institute, said the election campaign would likely increase voter activity. Voter turnout, even if lower than on average, would not be a mark of the legitimacy of the next government, he noted.
Photo: tozsdeforum.hu
Surveys and Polls – Support for main Hungarian parties in November
Budapest, December 2 (MTI) – Support for political parties in Hungary in November, gauged by pollsters Ipsos, Tarki, Nezopont, Szazadveg and Median on representative samples.
Support for parties in the whole sample:
Ipsos Tarki Nezopont Szazadveg Median
------------------------------------------------------------
Fidesz-KDNP 27 27 33 30 34
MSZP (Socialists) 15 12 10 15 16
Jobbik 7 7 11 7 10
E14-PM alliance* 3 5 6 4 4
LMP 2 2 6 2 2
Dem. Coalition** 2 3 3 3 4
Support for parties among decided voters:
Ipsos Tarki Nezopont Szazadveg Median
------------------------------------------------------------
Fidesz-KDNP 51 48 41 52 48
MSZP (Socialists) 26 20 13 24 21
Jobbik 13 13 11 12 16
E14-PM alliance* 4 9 6 4 6
LMP 2 3 6 3 3
Dem. Coalition** 3 6 3 4 6
* Non-parliamentary electoral alliance of Together 2014 and Dialogue for Hungary (E14-PM).
** Lawmakers of the Democratic Coalition are formally listed as independent MPs.
DK presents 16-point election platform
MTI – The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) presented a 16-point platform for their election campaign on Sunday.
“There will be no compromise with autocracy,” the party’s leader, Ferenc Gyurcsany, said in Budapest. First, Gyurcsany mentioned plans to adopt the euro in 2020.
DK would give voting rights to people who have permanent residence in Hungary and who pay taxes here, he said. Religion would be a private matter and the DK, if elected to government, would scrap Hungary’s contract with the Vatican and discontinue support for churches, he said, adding that a bank for the poor should be set up from the funds saved.
Competition, private property and the self-regulation of markets would be honoured, while special economic zones would be created where government intervention is necessary to help close the development gap.
Land leases would be terminated, with view to supporting not only family farms but also larger agribusiness which employ thousands of people. DK would introduce incremental employer social contributions that grow with the number of employees.
DK disagrees with the current government’s family policies which, in their view, punishes the poor, Gyurcsany said. He called for a radical hike in childcare benefits and a programme to build more nurseries and creches.
The public education system would be developed so that by leaving secondary school, every student would speak at least one language and by 2018-2020 all primary and secondary schools would have a bilingual curriculum, he said. Higher education would be more open in the admission phase, and after the first year, the best-performing students would stay on, he said, adding that “a fair tuition fee” should be charged, but the best students would get a generous scholarship.
DK would eliminate the retirement age altogether and create state-administered private pension accounts. It would return “confiscated” private pension payments to their owners, he said. Gyurcsany said instead of a utility bill cut scheme, which runs under the current government, his party would support wind and solar power and insulation programmes for half a million families.
He said DK would support the introduction of a one-third quota for women executives at listed companies in which the state holds stakes. The same quota would apply to elections lists by 2018, he added. Gyurcsany said he would eliminate public television and spend the tens of billions of forints saved on supporting individual news and public programmes.
The ruling Fidesz party said in a statement on Sunday that the failed left would take away tax credits for families, scrap the utility bill cuts and raise taxes. However, Hungary stands on its own feet, the economy shows promising signs of economic and employment growth and the burdens on families are being reduced, the party said.
Photo: MTI – Zsolt Szigetváry
MSZP AND E14-PM Alliance Present Election Candidates For Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County
The Socialist Party (MSZP) and the E14-PM electoral alliance presented at the press conference in Nyírbátor their individual candidates running in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County’s constituencies in 2014 parliamentary elections on yesterday.
The Socialists will field candidates in 4, while E14-PM will have candidates in 2 constituencies.
On the picture
On the middle: Mesterházy Attila, Chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party, Bajnai Gordon, Chairman of the E2014 Party and Veres János President of MSZP in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County
Election candidates: József Halmi (MSZP, first on left side), András Jeszenszki (MSZP,second on left), Zsolt Legény (MSZP, third on left), Csilla Bíróné Dienes (E2014-PM, third on right), László Helmeczy (E14-PM, second on right) and Ferenc Juhász (MSZP, first on right).
Photo: MTI – Attila Balázs
MSZP and E14-PM alliance present election candidates for Budapest
The Socialist Party (MSZP) and the E14-PM electoral alliance presented their individual candidates running in Budapest’s constituencies in next year’s parliamentary elections.
The Socialists will field candidates in 11, while E14-PM will have candidates in 7 constituencies.
On the picture
First line, left to riht: Csaba Molnár, the head of the Socialist Party of Budapest, Attila Mesterhazy, the Socialist party leader and Gordon Bajnai, head of the E14-PM alliance
Second line, left to riht: László Kiss(10th constituency), Péter Kiss (11th constituency), Eszter Móricz (12th constituency), Bence Tordai (13rd constituency), Károly Lukoczki (14th constituency), Gábor Simon (15 th constituency), István Hiller (16th constituency), Szabolcs Szabó (17th constituency) és Ágnes Somfai (18th constituency).
Third line, left to riht: Péter Juhász (1st constituency), István Józsa (2nd), Tímea Szabó (3rd constituency), Zsuzsanna Szelényi (4th constituency), Olivio Kocsis-Cake (5th constituency), Tibor Pál (6th constituency), Dezső Hiszékeny (7th constituency), Csaba Tóth (8th constituency) és Sándor Burány (9th constituency).
Photo: MTI – Illyés Tibor
The far right ‘Hungarian Dawn’ flag breakdown: Jobbik is not radical, they are too soft
The Hungarian political far right are keen to establish their identity with a party called Hungarian Dawn – ‘Magyar Hajnal’. This name is straitgh after the greek brother Golden Dawn.
The Euronews reports said, would-be party leader Andras Kisgergely reveals a sense of Hungarian Dawn’s reasoning, its mentality, with the assertion he makes in a speech, saying: “Everybody in Hungary should have the right to protect himself, his family and his values and property. We are going to fight for the right of every Hungarian to own a gun!”They want to cancel the Treaty of Trianon, which in 1920 dissolved the Astro-Hungarian empire and left Hungary smaller.
The Hungarian Dawn feels the Jobbik, the country’s third-largest party, is not radical enough, that it is too ‘soft’. In the last few months Magyar Hajnal website always cared with Jobbik, and they attacked them with articles plenty of times, because they are not anti semitic and not homophobic.
Magyar Hajnal’s bid is under consideration by the courts.
Photo: http://metropol.hu/
Part of the source: http://www.euronews.com/
Gábor Vona, the Jobbik party candidate for prime minister
Party President Gábor Vona has been nominated for the post of prime minister for the 2014 general elections by Jobbik 10th Congress held in Budapest on Saturday. By a secret vote, 98.8 percent of delegates voted confidence to party President Gábor Vona who has been leading the party for seven years.
Vona called his nomination a great honor, and also a great responsibility. He feels that he is much more prepared for the job than in 2010.
The Hungarian Socialist Party has received 12 years to prove itself, the Fidesz has gotten eight years; during these years, the country was looted, the national debt quadrupled, jobs disappeared, the manufacturing base of the country wiped out, we became world leaders in various forms of self-destructive behavior and a half million Hungarians fled the country said Vona.
He then reiterated his earlier remarks about Hungarian society of which a significant part is being kept hostage by the Socialist and the Fidesz parties. These parties are terrified of each other and because of that the election campaign is not about programs but fighting against each other. Jobbik would like to rescue society from this appalling situation, it wants to represent those that had enough of both parties.
Gábor Vona called on the Hungarian people to give his party four years to be able to prove that they can govern the country much more efficiently than the other parties. Jobbik’s program has three pillars: restore social security, create jobs (decent wages to the working people) and restore government accountability (eliminating corruption).
At the event, for the fist time the Pongrátz Gergely Cross of Merit Medal was awarded to journalist Ferenc Szaniszló and the Captain of the New Hungarian Guard István Mészáros.
After the congress, Gábor Vona and one hundred other Jobbik members and supporters left for Székely Land to join the Székely march for autonomy.
Fidesz wins repeated interim election in Baja ward
The Hungarian News Agenecy (MTI) said, the Fidesz candidate on Sunday won an interim council election in one ward of Baja, south Hungary, where the ballot had to be repeated due to alleged discrepancies in the original vote.
Csaba Kovacs, the candidate of the ruling party scored 138 votes, Melinda Teket, the joint candidate of the opposition Socialists, E14-PM and DK parties won 69 votes, the mayor of the town, Robert Zsigo, of the ruling Fidesz party, told MTI ahead of an official final count on Sunday evening.