Steven N.
Péter Márki-Zay, the political opposition’s candidate for prime minister, thinks that Fidesz will make an attempt to persuade opposition candidates to withdraw their candidacies, the politician said in an interview with Szeretlek Magyarország.
But he indicated that even more unsavory tactics by Hungary’s governing party may be afoot:
We are even spiritually prepared for the possibility of opposition politicians being taken away in chains as soon as the nominee lists are finalized.
-the opposition leader told the website.
Asked whether, for example, Szombathely politician Csaba Czeglédy could find himself in such a situation, Márki-Zay said that “exactly someone like him could be the target of such an attack.” As he pointed out:
You can see that Fidesz has always made very noteworthy arrests before elections are held. We expect that they will employ similar tools this time as well.
Asked if there was anything he would have done differently in the past three months since the primary election was held, Márki-Zay said most likely yes.
Perhaps an agreement with the [other opposition] parties could have been made sooner, but I didn’t realize how important it was for them, for example, to divide up the spots on the joint party list.
-stated the opposition leader.
The politician also talked about reaching as many settlements as possible, which requires a large number of activists. He expressed optimism on this point:
Fortunately, we’re in good shape, as 17,000 of the required 22,000 people have already applied to serve as ballot counters, and a significant portion of them are willing to spend at least one day a week during the campaign to hand out flyers, put up posters, and talk [with voters].
Márki-Zay was also asked about his relationship with the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party, but he said he had never campaigned against them. As he explained his thinking:
Based on simple mathematics, I wanted them to be part of the opposition, as it may be their voters who determine whether we’ll be able to call Viktor Orbán or Péter Márki-Zay prime minister after April 3. There is no third option.
He was also asked how much time he would need to run in his local campaign as an individual candidate in the Hódmezővásárhely-based electoral district, considering the fact that more than a dozen mayors in the constituency had already spoken out against him.
The Hódmezővásárhely mayor said that these were mayors who had been intimidated by Fidesz. He said that naturally he would be visiting these towns, and he plans to spend one day a week on his local campaign, three on the national one, and the rest of his time fulfiling his tasks as mayor. [Magyar Hang]
