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Idea for joint PM candidate falls flat |
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009 |
Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) chairman Attila Retkes surprised his own party when he unleashed the idea of nominating Lajos Bokros as a joint prime ministerial candidate of the SZDSZ, the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and the conservative Democratic Forum (MDF).
It was the latter party that former finance minister Bokros helped to clear the five per cent hurdle at the European Parliament elections in June. “The sovereignty of the three parties is undoubtedly important but it would be good to present a strong and acceptable candidate to prevent a two-thirds Fidesz and Jobbik majority,” Retkes said in an interview, adding later that he was voicing his own personal opinion and not the official party stance.
Drawing distance
“The SZDSZ chairman obviously cannot find a candidate, which is why he suggested a joint nominee,” MDF spokesman Szabolcs Kerék-Bárczy told state news agency MTI, adding that the Democratic Forum considers Bokros a good candidate for the top spot, as opinion polls suggest that he enjoys the support of some 18% of voters. “The idea suggests enthusiastic amateurism,” the spokesman added.
 The MSZP’s laconic response merely stated that it will announce its prime ministerial nominee at the next Socialist Party congress on 12 December.
According to Socialist sources cited by news website hirszerzo.hu, parliamentary caucus leader Attila Mesterházy is the frontrunner for the party’s nomination for prime minister at the 2010 general election. Sources from inside the party suggest that the decision has already been made, but the MSZP is waiting to make the announcement because Mesterházy is to appear as a witness in the Zuschlag hearing this Monday and the party wants to avoid the public associating its prime ministerial candidate with one of the biggest fraud cases in the history of the MSZP.
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