According to news site Telex, the withdrawal comes after research by pollster Századvég on Friday showed that if Szentkirályi withdraws, Dávid Vitézy could defeat Gergely Karácsony. The poll showed that Vitézy would get 48% of the vote, Karácsony only 42%, and András Grundtner, the candidate of far-right party Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland), about 4%.
"For me, it remains the most important thing that Gyurcsány and Karácsony leave the city. Therefore, to give way to change, I am withdrawing from the mayoral candidacy and will continue the campaign as the leader of Fidesz's list in the capital," announced Szentkirályi this morning.
She asked her supporters to vote for Dávid Vitézy (supported by green party LMP and his own With Dávid Vitézy Association for Budapest) on the mayoral ballot paper and for Fidesz-KDNP on the list ballot paper.
"This is how change is possible, this is how victory is possible. On June 9, let's get Gyurcsány and Karácsony out of the City Hall," she said.
Shortly after the announcement, Dávid Vitézy wrote on his Facebook page that he took note of Szentkirályi's decision. He added that the withdrawal was essentially a decision by Szentkirályi to give up her third-place finish which "became a certainty" after the debate between mayoral candidates.
Szentkirályi did not attend the debate between the mayoral candidates, held about a week ago, leaving Karácsony and Vitézy on the stage facing off against each other in a bid to attract voters.
The incumbent Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, supported by a coalition of opposition parties (Párbeszéd-Zöldek,DK, and MSZP) also reacted to the news of Szentkirályi's withdrawal on social media, "The charade is over, as we predicted: a dark and cynical political deal has been struck. Dávid Vitézy is the candidate of Fidesz, NER, and the regime."
As the BBJ wrote earlier, speaking to foreign journalists in late April, Vitézy denied being any kind of Fidesz “mole” or any collusion between himself and Szentkirályi. Stressing his track record as an expert in urban planning and transport, he said his program is based on “social housing and housing for public employees in the national education, health and police systems,” adding that there “has been no investment at all in the rental market or in public housing” in either the current or previous mayoral terms.
Vitézy, now undoubtedly the most serious challenger of Karácsony, served as inaugural head of the Budapest Transport Company (BKK) under Fidesz-backedMayor István Tarlós and, for a short period, was a state secretary under a Fidesz minister in 2018.
Before his successful bid for Mayor of Budapest, Karácsony served as an MP from 2010 to 2014 and later on as Mayor of Zugló from 2014 to 2019.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
