Milla founder and Together-2014 co-Chairman Peter Juhasz told ATV’s Olga Kalman last night that he will remain co-chairman of the Hungarian opposition political party Together 2014-PM despite deciding not to run for parliament.
Milla refers to the Facebook based movement known as “One million for press freedom”. Originally launched in response to Hungary’s new media laws, Milla announced in October 2012 it was joining forces with trade union movement Szolidaritas and former prime minister Gordon Bajnai’s Patriotism and Progress Foundation to form a political party whose goal was to bring about a “change in era” (korszakváltás) whereby the country’s corrupt political elite are replaced by a new generation of civic minded politicians prepared to put the interests of Hungary and the Hungarian people ahead of their own selfish interests.
On January 8, Juhasz offered to resign as Milla’s delegate on to Together 2014’s executive council after Gordon Bajnai announced his party’s decision to broaden the coalition of opposition parties to include Ferenc Gyurcsany’s Democratic Coalition (DK) and to accept MSZP’s nominee for prime minister (understood at the time to be MSZP chairman Attila Meszterhazy). The decision paved the way for the main opposition parties to announce the following week that they had agreed to run a joint list of candidates to be led by Meszterhazy.
The decision was a major political defeat for Juhasz who was adamantly opposed to any cooperation with DK and insisted Together 2014 put forth its own nominee for prime minister.
On Thursday, January 9, Juhasz issued the following press release:
I’d like to confirm there is no possible situation in which my name would appear on a national list of candidates headed by Attila Mesterhazy or containing the name of Ferenc Gyurcsany.
The Egyutt-PM association made a new collaboration agreement with MSZP yesterday. While I agree that the coming-together of democratic parties is inevitable, I cannot support the constructs of the latest agreement which have recently emerged. I believe that the constructs of this latest agreement do not increase the likelihood of a change of government and the ushering in of a new era.
I have tendered my resignation to the Milla platform, for which I was chosen as the delegate to the Egyutt-2014 executive council.
Last night Juhasz announced that Milla had not accepted his resignation, and that he would continue to serve as co-chair of Together 2014. He said he will work vigorously throughout the campaign to bring about a change in government, but that his goal remains to bring about regime change (korszakváltás). He confirmed that he would not be running for parliament in Budapest’s 5th district and that DK politician, former Los Angeles Council General Szabolcs Kerek-Barczy, will be the joint opposition candidate to run against Fidesz MP and 5th district mayor, Antal Rogan, in Budapest’s 5th electoral district.
Referenced in this article:
Hungarian politics make for strange bedfellows, BudapestBeacon.com; 9 January 2014
Juhasz Peter interju Egyenes Beszed, ATV.hu; 20 January 2014