Mesterházy assumed full responsibility for the party’s dismal showing at both the parliamentary and the EU elections.

He had offered to resign on Sunday night, leaving it up to the party national council to decide on his future at its Saturday meeting. However, he initially said that he would stay on as caucus leader.

Mesterházy has been the Socialist caucus leader since 2009, after Ferenc Gyurcsány reigned as prime minister. He was the party’s candidate for prime minister in 2010, but did not become party president until after the elections that year.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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