• Home
• Channel: Current Affairs
• Hungarian Opposition Párbeszéd Re-Elects Szabó, Karácsony As Co-Leaders

Hungarian Opposition Párbeszéd Re-Elects Szabó, Karácsony As Co-Leaders

• 12 Nov 2018 8:08 AM
• Hungary Matters

Tímea Szabó and Gergely Karácsony were both re-elected unchallenged for another 18 months as the liberal opposition Párbeszéd party’s co-leaders at a party meeting on Sunday.

At a news conference, Karácsony said Párbeszéd will campaign together with the Socialist Party in next year’s European Parliament elections.

In the meantime, Párbeszéd will seek out other partners for a wide-ranging “European alliance”. He said that whereas several opposition parties were preparing their own separate lists for the EP election, many civil society organisations and social movements shared Párbeszéd’s precepts.

So it wants the broadest possible social support for their EP list with the Socialists, he added. Szabó said Párbeszéd’s alliance with other opposition forces would only endure if Karácsony was re-elected as the mayor of the Budapest district of Zugló in next year’s local elections, with the support of their allies at local, regional and national level.

Szabó said Párbeszéd’s key policy is to introduce a basic universal income. Also, the party wants to work to scrap the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant and solve housing problems, she said.

Further, health care and education will be priority areas, she added.

In response to a question, Karácsony said he continued to back a primary for selecting the opposition’s candidate for Budapest mayor and hopefully related agreements would be ready by the end of the year.

Any attempt to split the opposition forces in the capital would be irresponsible and lead to the re-election of Fidesz’s István Tarlós, he added. With a primary, votes will converge on the best candidate as part of a democratic process, he said. “I find this principle more important than any personal ambitions,” he added.

The opposition Socialist and Párbeszéd parties will set up a joint list for next May’s European parliamentary elections, the leader of the Socialist Party said over the weekend.

“The majority of Hungarians want Hungary to remain a member of the European Union,” Bertalan Tóth told a press conference on the sidelines of the party’s assembly meeting.

Tóth said the two parties would fight to limit the influence of political forces working to disintegrate the EU on the bloc’s decisions.

MTI Photo: Mónus Márton

• How does this content make you feel?
• I love it
• I like it
• I dislike it

• Opposition Co-Leaders

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

Budapest Crisis: Lifeline Loan or Power Grab?

• 11 Dec 2025 6:17 AM

The government's aid loan programme is a "safety belt" for Budapest to ensure that the city remains functional, its employees get paid, and "nobody pockets the money owed to them", Alexandra Szentkirályi, the group leader of the ruling parties in the city assembly, said on Facebook on Monday.



Watch: Who is Péter Magyar? What Does His Tisza Party Stand For? And Can Magyar beat Orbán?

• 28 Nov 2025 12:49 PM

Magyar is the most visible new face on Hungary’s political stage — a former Fidesz insider who turned into a high-profile opposition leader almost overnight. He now accuses the government of nepotism, misusing EU funds, and using state media for propaganda, advocating for policies to combat corruption and restore democratic institutions.



Orbán: Budapest Peace Summit on the Horizon

• 24 Nov 2025 7:07 AM

Hungary's prime minister has said that a Budapest peace summit was on the horizon and the next 2-3 weeks would now prove "decisive", now that the existence of the 28-point peace plan had been confirmed.



Watch: Hungary Exempted from US Sanctions, but Brussels Still Banning Russian Energy Imports

• 12 Nov 2025 5:55 AM

Even though Hungary has secured an exemption from US sanctions, Brussels is still banning Russian energy imports from 2027, Viktor Orbán said on Tuesday. "They want to pursue the war and sanctions," the prime minister wrote on Facebook.