Budapest, April 24 (MTI) – The opposition Socialists will elect a prime ministerial candidate at the party congress on May 27, chairman Gyula Molnár said on Monday.
Mayor of Szeged László Botka has accepted the nomination for the post, he told a press conference after the party’s board meeting.
Molnár also said that the congress will approve a document showing its manifesto for Hungarian society, its political allies, trade unions, civil organisations and intellectuals. This will not be a diktat but a presentation of its policy offering, he added.
The PM candidate will present his election programme at five regional forums between May 1 and 15 and he will collect signatures for his nomination, Molnár said. A recent campaign by the Socialists has revealed that Hungarians believe there is a clear alternative and a challenger to the current government, and cooperation to this end can revolve around the Socialists, he said.
The ruling Fidesz party said that Botka would carry on where the Socialists left off when they were in power. In a statement, Fidesz said the Socialists had always been the party of billionaires and today that is no different. It added that Botka travelled around in a luxury car costing 25 million forints (EUR 80,000) and went on luxury holidays.
Botka is doing his best to give the appearance of “a simple child of the people” who has nothing to do with the past policies of the Socialist Party, but the reality is that he voted for austerity which burdened families, employees and pensioner under the premierships of Péter Medgyessy, Ferenc Gyurcsány and Gordon Bajnai, the statement said.
Photo: MTI