At the moment the situation in the opposition forces is so fluid that I am hesitant to write anything definitive about the state of affairs. Just to illustrate the point, at 2:30 p.m. 444 reported that MSZP and LMP had agreed that Márta Naszályi (MSZP-P) will withdraw, leaving Antal Csárdi (LMP) to face István Hollik (Fidesz-KDNP) in Budapest district #1. At the same time, LMP will withdraw András Tenk in favor of Ildikó Bangó neé Borbély in Budapest district #17. About three hours later Gergely Karácsony denied the news. In fact, he announced on Facebook that no negotiations were taking place at all. The whole report is just empty scuttlebutt.
Yet, an hour later, HVG reported that Bernadett Szél had “categorically stated that negotiations are underway with MSZP-P about withdrawals.” The source of the information was the internet site Azonnali. It is normally difficult to figure out what Bernadett Szél is talking about, and this time is no different. There is a lot of fluff and generality in her fairly lengthy interview, but two sentences are pertinent to the alleged negotiations. The sentences refer to the two districts that had been reported to be the subjects of negotiation, most likely district 1 and district 17 in Budapest. The first sentence says that “negotiations are going on about it.” And the second reference is that in the past LMP withdrew in two districts in favor of the socialist Ágnes Kunhalmi and Jobbik’s Lajos Kepli in Tapolca without demanding any compensation. “But this withdrawal would work on the basis of reciprocity.” A few hours later it seemed that we are once again dealing with semantic distinctions among the words “negotiations,” “conversations,” and “harmonization of views” (egyeztetés). There were talks but no negotiations in the strict sense of the word.
While Szél was talking to the journalist from Azonnali, Karácsony made an announcement that was widely reported on several internet news sites. MSZP-P is ready to withdraw in four districts in favor of LMP and Együtt. In return, they expect Együtt and LMP to withdraw in all districts where the MSZP-P candidate would be the likely winner. As far as I can ascertain, LMP and Együtt have not yet responded to this offer.
The earlier information about Naszályi’s withdrawal turned out to be accurate. MSZP-P will leave the terrain to Csárdi to face Hollik in district #1. On the other hand, the earlier leak about district #17 proved to be partially wrong. Not only will LMP withdraw Tenk, but MSZP-P will now accept the incumbent Szabolcs Szabó of Együtt and withdraw the socialist Ildikó Bangó. In addition, in district #6 of Pest County (Gödöllő and environs) MSZP-P will withdraw the socialist candidate in favor of LMP’s Szilvia Lengyel, who is best able to challenge the Fidesz candidate. Finally, MSZP-P gave up its claim to district #1 of Tolna County. The party is ready to withdraw Tamás Harangozó, an important MSZP leader, in favor of LMP’s Ákos Hadházy, who is a native of Szekszárd, the center of the district. As HVG noted, MSZP-P is paying a high price for its deal with LMP.
As it turned out later from a conversation with Bertalan Tóth, one of the leading member of MSZP, in return MSZP will ask LMP, Együtt, and Momentum to withdraw in 29 districts where these parties have no chance whatsoever of winning. MSZP is ready for further sacrifices if necessary, he added. That proposal was sent over to the parties in question a few hours ago.
Based on the knee-jerk reactions of Ákos Hadházy, co-chairman of the party, and Péter Ungár, member of the board, LMP will likely reject the offer. Ákos Hadházy, who followed Tóth on ATV’s “Egyenes beszéd,” didn’t even want to talk about it. But at the end, he reiterated the old LMP mantra that those swing districts can be won even without the withdrawal of candidates with dismal prospects and only 2-3% of the votes. Péter Ungár went further. He called “MSZPs 3:27 proposal not an offer but a rejection. Gergely Karácsony knows full well that LMP will never accept such a deal. The socialists have never wanted to have a real agreement; their aim is to demonstrate that it is [LMP’s] fault. And that’s not true.” He accused MSZP-P of refusing to relinquish more districts than four because otherwise they would lose half of their government subsidy. Ungár concluded that “this farce” is considered to be closed.
The way some Hungarian politicians conduct themselves never ceases to amaze me. Péter Ungár specializes in unseemly behavior. It is enough to recall his conduct at Momentum’s picnic and his aggressive behavior during the MSZP-DK-LMP negotiations a few weeks ago. His interview yesterday with Egon Rónai was a disgrace, and this latest outburst is also unacceptable. I understand that he is a valuable asset to the party in monetary terms, but I doubt that his behavior and pronouncements help the reputation of LMP, which has suffered in the last four years as a result of their unwillingness to conduct negotiations with other opposition parties.
What goes on in opposition circles is infuriating, and I assume that I’m not the only one who finds these characters’ behavior objectionable. I’m afraid that most people will indeed blame LMP if promising districts are lost because of their obstinacy. Nor will the party escape the accusation of being in the pay of Fidesz. And given Ungár’s family connection (Mária Schmidt, court historian to the Fidesz government, is his mother), the accusation might actually stick this time around and do irreparable harm to the party.