András Schiffer, co-leader of green LMP, called Mesterházy a fair political opponent, and said that his resignation could be expected in light of the Socialists’ poor performance in the EP election.

He added that he thought it was not Mesterházy alone who should be blamed for the “hopeless-looking” situation the Socialists were in, but also the party’s previous governments and “veteran Socialists Mesterházy inherited”.

Schiffer also said that the Socialists could never defeat the ruling Fidesz party by cooperating with such politicians as former Socialist prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, or Gordon Bajnai, Gyurcsány’s successor.

Spokesman for the Democratic Coalition, Zsolt Gréczy said his party, headed by Gyurcsány, was interested in the Socialist Party’s finding a way out of its crisis, but declined to make any further comments.

The ruling Fidesz party said that following Mesterházy’s resignation, the two other leaders of Hungary’s left wing, Gyurcsány and Bajnai, should follow suit.

“[T]hey are just as responsible for the left-wing’s disastrous drubbing...” Máté Kocsis, the party’s communication’s chief told a news conference.

He added that “Gyurcsány is the real boss of the left wing,” and he should take his fair share of the blame.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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