Parties down the home stretch for EP elections

Gordon Bajnai, a former Prime Minister of Hungary, now leader of Együtt-PM, is promising the renewal of the left. In his program, the leader talks about the defeat of the left-wing ‘Unity’ coalition by Fidesz and the strengthening of far-right Jobbik. His conclusion is the need for new ideas and “new faces”, as he is quoted in his program flyer.

Bajnai asks for the support of those who are not interested in ‘anti-Europe’ right-wing parties and are disappointed by the old left-wing parties. He urges not just the renewal of the left but also of Europe, which is in “the national interest of Hungarians too”.

Jobbik warns supporters not to forget to take acquaintances and relatives to the elections on May 25. Besides emphasizing the importance of the EP elections, Jobbik seeks what it calls an “emerging society” and “Hungarian autonomy” in its party program entitled “Europe of Nations”.

Krisztina Morvai, the list-leading EP candidate for Jobbik, would provide exemplary actions in the European Parliament for other nations. “We can claim our rights and dignity back equally”, she says in her program.

Democratic Coalition leader Ferenc Gyurcsány, another former PM, pursues in his program a “European Hungary” and encourages people to “vote for themselves”. He poses the issue of the Hungarian youth emigrating and wants to create a country for them to stay.

According to him “problems did not start with the advent of Orbán, but with the lack of the establishment of democracy […] Hungary has hit rock bottom, its constitution is destroyed and the government does not respect the citizens of Hungary,” Gyurcsány says in a harsh critique of the present situation.

Prime Minister of Hungary and Fidesz leader Viktor Orbán is committed to send “ordinary and honest people” to the European Parliament. “It does matter whether we send people to the EP who work and stand by the interests of Hungary, or people who do not,” he said in his speech delivered in Mór, yesterday.

He also emphasized the importance of participation in the upcoming elections as “it might seem that we have lost supporters”. The PM openly stated that voting for far-right candidates who wanted to leave the European Union is not a good idea. He said that the governance of the country is the question of “common sense”.

The importance of participation in the elections is very well described by the official website of the EU dealing with the event. “The European elections of 22-25 May 2014 give voters the chance to influence the future political course of the European Union when they elect the 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to represent their interests for the next five years.”