Socialists: Vision of ‘fourth republic’ key Socialist election campaign message

The Socialist Party‘s vision for the “Hungarian fourth republic” will be at the heart of its campaign leading up to the spring 2018 general election, Gyula Molnár, the opposition party’s leader, said on Saturday. 

The fourth republic is a term used by opposition forces that call for a new republic of Hungary based on the values of social justice, equality and self-determination, as well as the promotion of the rule of law and checks and balances.

Speaking at an event in Budapest to present the party’s programme, Molnár said

the Socialists were ready to form alliances with forces that want change and put change as the top priority in their manifestos.

He welcomed cooperation with the small liberal Párbeszéd (Dialogue) party.

He said the party insists on fielding joint candidates in individual constituencies, on drawing up a common national list and putting forward a joint candidate for prime minister.

Molnár told the party’s national assembly that they would discuss how schools could be made into an area of free thinking, how to plough more money into health care, as well as how to ensure a free press, prosecution service and local councils independent of the central government.

Reacting to Molnár’s call for broad cooperation, Gergely Karácsony, co-leader of the liberal Párbeszéd (Dialogue for Hungary) party, said:

“Decide what role I should have in this cooperation; if you need me, I will come … and bring with me everything I know.”

Karácsony said he agreed with the idea of a joint manifesto which made “investing in people” its core aim.

Karácsony said the reason why voters did not put their trust in left-wing parties was because left-wing parties did not put their trust in each other. “If we want to make Hungarian citizens believe that Hungary can be unified, then we must have a joint platform and joint candidates, a joint list and a joint candidate for prime minister.