Opposition parties vow to settle on joint PM candidate by Oct 2021

Hungary's opposition parties have promised to name a joint candidate for prime minister and joint individual candidates for each electoral district for the next general election by October 23, 2021.

The opposition Socialist, Jobbik, Democratic Coalition, LMP, Momentum and Parbeszed parties said in a statement on Monday that each of their joint candidates would be chosen in primaries.

The parties said they had agreed at a meeting on Sunday that although they “reject the amendment proposals to the election system initiated by the Fidesz regime”, they were “preparing to win and take back the public funds being stolen under the guise of a constitutional amendment”.

The parties also slammed the government’s handling of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, saying its measures aimed at managing the crisis were “too little, too late” after “failing to prepare the health-care system” for the surge in cases.

“The Fidesz regime should only be concerned with protecting the Hungarian people and strengthening the economy and the health-care system during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, instead of matters concerning its powers,” the statement said.

The parties said they were preparing to replace the Fidesz-led government and usher in the “start of a new era” in 2022. They added that their joint election manifesto would lay down the fundamental principles “that will serve as a compass for the cooperation between the democratic parties”. The consultations between the parties will also involve professional and civil organisations as well as labour unions, the statement added.

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