The European Green Party reiterates its unambiguous and unequivocal support for the re-election of incumbent mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony in the upcoming mayoral election in Budapest, Hungary, which is taking place on 9 June, Sunday, at the same time as the European elections.
On Friday, 7 June, Fidesz-KDNP’s Budapest mayoral candidate, Alexandra Szentkirályi, withdrew her candidacy in favour of Dávid Vitézy, the candidate supported by LMP – Magyarország Zöld Pártja and Vitézy’s own NGO, Vitézy Dáviddal Budapestért. Szentkirályi asked her supporters to vote for Vitézy in the mayoral race and to support the list of Fidesz-KDNP for the General Assembly of Budapest.
The European Green Party, as a pro-European and pro-democratic movement, is committed to fighting against the far-right, anti-European and populist regime of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Gergely Karácsony delivered a shock defeat to the candidate supported by Orbán’s Fidesz party in the 2019 Budapest mayoral election. A second victory in Budapest on Sunday by incumbent mayor Gergely Karácsony is essential to strengthen the pro-European and democratic movement in Hungary.
The decision of one of our Hungarian Member Parties, LMP – Magyarország Zöld Pártja, to back Dávid Vitézy, a former state secretary in Orbán’s previous government, as a candidate for mayor of Budapest, risks the failure to achieve these objectives. In light of these developments, the European Green Party on 25 March 2024 distanced itself from LMP’s decision and, as a precautionary measure, the EGP suspended its political cooperation with LMP for the duration of the EU election and Hungarian local election campaign. The European Green Party will continue to monitor further developments.
The European Greens Party also condemns the intimidation attempts of Orbán’s regime towards democratic incumbent mayor of Budapest Karácsony. End of May 2024, Orbán’s security service and the national tax administration raided and searched the houses of the colleagues of the pro-European, democratic mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, including the office of his attorney, less than three weeks before the European and local elections. The Hungarian secret service collected political, sensitive and confidential data, which should never end up with the secret services in a democracy.
