Steven N.
Gergely Kovács, President of the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP, pictured), was the guest of ATV’s Egyenes Beszéd (“Straight Talk“) program, where he was asked about the opposition’s desginated nominee for prime minister, Péter Márki-Zay, among other topics.
The interview was prompted by Márki-Zay lumping billionaire businessman-turned-politician György Gattyán and Gergely Kovács together as similar political forces that will both divide votes on the opposition side.
Apparently unhappy about being grouped together with the rich internet entrepreneur, Kovács reacted on Facebook with the comment:
Could we get a different opposition candidate who doesn’t act this way?
On ATV, Gergely Kovács stated that Péter Márki-Zay could remain as the opposition’s prime-ministerial candidate, but he wants him to “just behave differently.” He also insinuated that Márki-Zay could keep his mouth shut, but was a bit more direct in saying that he simply wanted the mayor of Hódmezővásárhely to stop saying untrue things.
It would be “much more sensible,” Kovács said, if the opposition dealt instead with issues like forming a unified position on the government’s child protection referendum. The Two-Tailed Dog Party continues to support its strategy from 2016 that “an invalid vote is perhaps the most appropriate,” which is the strategy suggested by a number of Hungarian human rights NGOs.
Why MKKP Didn’t Join the United Opposition Coalition
According to Kovács, MKKP did not join the opposition coalition because they thought they could do more to defeat the government by getting votes from those who were not supporters of the united opposition.
If the party had joined the six-party union, Kovács believes that MKKP voters would have “gone very far away.” However, the party chairman promised that if MKKP manages to get 5% of the electorate, the threshold required for representation in Parliament, they will not help Fidesz stay in power but will be willing to cooperate with the opposition, within certain limits. Kovács mentioned the fight against corruption as an example where they could work together.
MKKP’s goal is to try to field candidates in 71 of the 106 electoral districts so it can also form a nationwide party list of candidates. He has previously stated that the party hopes to win at least three seats in Parliament.
At the end of the show, Gergely Kovács also pointed out that the political party of pandemic skeptic György Gődény, the Normal Life Party, is asking for his supporters’ personal identification numbers, which Kovács believes is illegal. The MKKP President has reported this breach of privacy to the Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH).
[HVG][Photo: atv.hu]
