Mesterhazy: Programme for ‘national modernisation’ to create fair Hungary

Mesterhazy told public television that he had been planning his departure from the Socialists for several months because he disagreed with the path that the party was following for some time.

In response to a question, he said that his old party and new party stand close to each other in terms of the values they pursue but their strategies differ.

Mesterhazy said he believed centre-left politics would bring success. “We want to pursue social-democratic politics with a strong emphasis on enforcing national interests and in certain cases we do not consider the issue of national sovereignty off limits”, he added.

The party aims to primarily attract new voters because “there could be many people that do not want to vote for either [DK leader] Ferenc Gyurcsany or the Socialists,” he said. He estimated that around 30 percent of voters belong to the uncertain group and the new party dubbed Socialists and Democrats wants to address them, he added.

In response to a question, he said that he had shared the opposition’s position on the issues of protecting children and country borders but the new party would seek to develop new responses to these issues. When it comes to child protection, “things that do not belong together should not be mixed”, he added.