Opposition party candidates gained mayor positions in 16, while 6 positions were taken by Socialist candidates in the major cities according to the preliminary local governmental election results. Budapest remained in the hands of the smaller coalition party Social Democrats.
The coalition parties commented that it was obvious for them, that the recently started austerity measures will consume a part of their support. Though they reiterated, they are committed to the reforms and said they were not even wasting time in between the general and the local elections. Opposition party Fidesz leader commented that the opposition victory is a clear sign for Mr Gyurcsany to resign.
President Mr Laszlo Solyom has also made a comments after the local governmental elections, saying that the solution to the current political turmoil is in the coalition’s hands as neither the President, nor the opposition and the people on the street has the right to remove the PM. Please note that since last Sunday people have been protesting asking the PM to resign, after he admitted, they won the general elections with the help of lies.
Our view: We believe, the results of the local governmental elections should be viewed as neutral. It was widely expected that the opposition could get the majority of the mayor positions. Going forward, the government’s commitment to the reforms should be watched closely.