Local Elections – Tarlos Leads, Left Fights Old Woes, Say Analysts

Budapest, September 30 (MTI) – The withdrawal of Ferenc Falus from his candidacy for the post of Budapest mayor has not altered parties’ chances in the local elections substantially, political analysts polled by MTI today said.

The left is not able to overcome its old mistakes, and Tarlos still has a very good chance of winning the mayoral race, they agreed. Turnout, however, is expected to be below average at the October 12 municipal elections.

Falus announced that he has quit as the leftist candidate for mayor of Budapest on Monday. The Democratic Coalition (DK) and the Egyutt parties pledged support for Lajos Bokros, the mayoral candidate of the conservative Movement for a Modern Hungary (MoMa). The Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party, which is a part of the opposition E-PM party alliance, does not support Bokros. The Socialists have not yet come forward with a unified plan.

Robert Laszlo, an analyst for Political Capital, said the outcome of the mayoral race will not be influenced by the fact that the number of candidates has fallen. Tarlos is still the favourite, he said. The Socialists, DK, Egyutt and PM do not trust each other and have been carving up the cake for some time, which has resulted in scaring away committed voters. Although Bokros probably has supporters who see him as a credible choice and even give him a realistic chance of winning, there are probably even more disillusioned voters who will stay away from polls, seeing that the opposition is preoccupied with itself just two weeks before voting day, he added.