Gyurcsány’s dilemma

A columnist writing in Hungary’s main left-leaning daily believes that Ferenc Gyurcsány will soon have to make a hard decision and step back, since his presence may weaken the chances of a wide left-wing coalition which will attempt to replace the Orbán government at the 2014 election.

“The Democratic Coalition needs to take steps if it wants to find its place in the left-wing electoral cooperation in 2014,” Péter Pető writes in Népszabadság. The Democratic Coalition lead by former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány expressed willingness to support Gordon Bajnai’s Together 2014 umbrella organization, which aims at uniting left-wing parties (see BudaPost October 26). Bajnai replied that Milla, the civil group initiating the foundation of Together 2014 should negotiate and decide whether it wants to ally with the Democratic Coalition, which Milla had earlier criticized. He added, however, that the coalition should not include groups which deter more voters than they attract.

Pető contends that Bajnai’s Together 2014 cannot cooperate with the highly unpopular Gyurcsány and his party, since such an alliance would deter centrists from backing the left-wing umbrella organization. The left-wing columnist also notes that since Bajnai’s return to politics, the Democratic Coalition has in any case little chance of crossing the 5 per cent parliamentary threshold at the next election. According to Nézőpont Institute’s latest poll, Together 2014 would get into the parliament, while the Democratic Coalition has lost supporters since Bajnai’ return.

Taking all this into account, “Gyurcsány can either continue the heroic fight for his survival, or bow to the political realities which suggest that he should once again take a back seat,” Pető concludes.

Tags: Bajnai, Democratic Coalition, Gyurcsány, Milla, Together 2014