No party has ever suffered such a drop in popularity in such a short period of time, he added. Botka blamed the government for having deprived the municipalities of 300 billion forints (EUR 1bn) more than what the central government needed for performing the tasks transferred from local to national competence over the past few years.

The board leader said the government was pushing for the early approval of next year’s budget because Prime Minister Viktor Orbán probably feels he would not have the support needed to pass the bill in the autumn.

Socialist leader József Tóbiás said the board saw the last three byelections as proof that “both the left and the far-right are now capable of defeating Fidesz.”

MSZP aims to defeat Fidesz and will never cooperate with the radical nationalist Jobbik party on any level, he said.

Tóbiás said that for the Socialists every day is about European values, democracy, liberty and fighting inequality.

MSZP is committed to working closely with NGOs in shaping the future of Hungary, he said.

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