The Socialist Party needs a new, young prime ministerial candidate who is capable of regaining the trust of voters, party chairwoman Ildikó Lendvai told a press conference on Sunday.
She said the July 4 party convention should debate an action plan that addresses five main issues: public safety, social security, moral security, preparing an election platform and setting a deadline for finding a new prime minister. The latter could happen at a convention in the late summer or early autumn, Lendvai explained.
The party executive of Lendvai, Social Policy Minister Péter Kiss and Defence Minister Imre Szekeres is being terminated and a national election committee will be formed to prevent further struggles. Lendvai admitted that the June 7 European Parliament election results have provoked in-party fighting, and the new committee will make all of the party’s executive decisions until next year’s national elections.
Szekeres said in an interview with Hírszerzo website on Friday that once Parliament has passed the draft budget and tax bills, the Socialists should consider whether or not to continue governing, adding that next month’s convention may decide on this.
“New faces are needed alongside the experienced politicians in the party leadership,” he asserted, adding that “an objective assessment will have to be made of the governing of the past two years, one which does not pick ‘anybody in particular’.”
“We should nominate someone who demonstrates that the Socialist Party is a credible, left-wing party. I have no answer yet,” he said.
Lendvai said the nominee for prime minister should be “committed and have a great cause to represent, but not be controversial nor morally frail”. She later told Kossuth Rádió that the Socialists “are not necessarily insisting” on seeing out their entire four-year term.
