Parties of the opposition won Sunday’s local elections in several cities and Budapest districts because of a recent scandal around Zsolt Borkai, the (re-elected) mayor of western Hungary’s Győr, Gergely Gulyás, the Prime Minister Office’s chief, said at a conference on Tuesday.
Borkai “won the country an (Olympic) gold in 1988, and now he has won gold medals to candidates of the left-liberal parties in three to five Budapest districts and at least two cities of county status,” Gulyás insisted. He added that the scandal had “clearly benefitted” opposition candidate Gergely Karácsony, who then won Budapest’s mayoral post. A few days ago, Gergely Gulyás and Fidesz said Borkai’s scandal was “private matter”.
Meanwhile, Lajos Kósa, Fidesz’s deputy leader and campaign manager, said the ruling alliance had not received fewer votes than in last year’s general election. Fidesz-KDNP received 1.96 million votes while and the opposition garnered 1.56 million votes, he added.
In the featured photo: PMO Head Gergely Gulyás. Photo by Lajos Soós/MTI