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Hungarian Socialist Party to back Laszlo Botka for prime minister in 2018

Xinhua, January 19, 2017 Adjust font size:

The presidium of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) has decided to nominate Laszlo Botka, mayor of the southeast city of Szeged, for prime minister of Hungary in 2018 elections, party chair Gyula Molnar told a Wednesday news conference here.

Molnar said the decision had been unanimous and he called on other left-wing parties, NGOs, and everyone who wants political change to support Botka.

Botka said he would submit a platform shortly and would focus on creating the political conditions enabling the entire left to cooperate and obtain a parliamentary majority in 2018.

The left wing DK party acknowledged the Socialists' nomination in a statement signed by DK executive vice president Csaba Molnar. But the DK noted that it had put forward its own proposals for next year's parliamentary elections.

It called on Botka to bring substantive and not administrative issues to the table. It wanted to hear about improving health care and education, raising wages, mitigating poverty, reducing taxes and "restoring democratic rule of law."

Other left-wing parties have yet to respond. Enditem