Two candidates ran for the post of co-president, Ágnes Kunhalmi received 90 percent of the votes and Imre Komjáthi 89 percent of the votes.
Out of 237 valid votes, Ágnes Kunhalmi received 214 votes and Imre Komjáthi 211, the press department informed MTI.
The speeches of the elected presidents were broadcast online on the Facebook page of the MSZP, both emphasized the left-wing, social-democratic commitment of the MSZP, praised the party's rural network, and also called for the resumption of the dialogue between the opposition parties.
Imre Komjáthi said that he is initiating the opposition parties to cooperate locally in the municipal election, as in 2019, and also to run unitedly on a single list in the European Parliament (EP) election.
The re-elected Ágnes Kunhalmi said that the MSZP should break with the crisis management policy based on austerity and the reforms imposed on society from above.
He said that crises shape the country's everyday life, and moreover, Fidesz responded to this - breaking its election promises - with an austerity policy.
According to him, the current crisis is not a proposal to bring back the politics before 2010, sprinkled with some social glaze, new, real left-wing answers are needed, a left-wing turn in economic policy is needed.
He added: the austerity was the decisive reason why the MSZP was quarantined after 2010, which is why it was in a crisis of credibility.
He said that in 12 years, the socialists did not face their governmental activities before 2010, and therefore the achieved results were not taken into account, as examples he mentioned the reduction of social differences, wage increases and the introduction of the 13th month pension.
He demanded that there be a 10 percent pension increase before Christmas, and a minimum 16 percent pension increase in Hungary from January, and that the 13th monthly pensions of the past years be returned as well.
According to him, the authoritarian system of Fidesz has once again reached the level of dismissal of teachers, and he encouraged everyone who "lives and moves in this country" to demonstrate on Sunday for better education.
Ágnes Kunhalmi also argued in favor of changing the tax system, calling it unacceptable that capital is taxed at a lower rate than citizens.
He also evaluated the results of the 2022 parliamentary election, and considered one of the lessons learned that the right-wing system cannot be defeated with a right-wing prime minister candidate. He confirmed that in the next election, the primary election, the MSZP will have its own candidate for prime minister.
He also spoke of the fact that the opposition parties would not have achieved even this result if there had not been an alliance.
Warning against the politicization of grievances, he said that those who today do not shy away from cooperation and the resumption of dialogue are also indicating that they really want to fight with the enemy and not with each other.
Imre Komjáthi spoke of his new assignment as a "hard job" and then declared that he wants the MSZP to be the voice of those working people whose voices have not been heard by the powerful who decide their fate.
He indicated that the MSZP participates in parliamentary work, but in order to know the will of the people, one has to live among them, action is needed, "not nonsense".
He thanked Bertalan Tóth, who left the post of co-president, because the MSZP has no debts.
According to Imre Komjáthi's assessment, the MSZP is the only purely left-wing party, and its program is based on three pillars: the creation of freedom, legal security and democracy; creation of equal opportunities, social security, elimination of social injustices; strengthening environmental protection and enforcing climate justice.
The co-chairman said that this program serves the interests of the entire Hungarian nation, which, in his opinion, is held together by left-wing ideas such as solidarity.
"We can sing that +we are from the same blood+, but we cannot talk about a unified nation until the fate of a single child is decided by the family it is born into," he said, and then spoke about the problems of education and healthcare.
Imre Komjáthi stated that the MSZP has complied with all agreements so far, "it has no unspoken, sneaky plans".
"We always wanted to replace Fidesz and we don't have plans B and C against the other opposition parties," he said.
At the end of his speech, he expressed faith in his party and his nation, then he closed his speech by placing his right hand on his heart and raising his left: May God help me!
Bertalan Tóth - who is the leader of the party's parliamentary faction - has led the MSZP since 2018, first as president, then as co-president with Ágnes Kunhalmi from 2020.
The congress will continue behind closed doors on Saturday afternoon, the party's deputy president, vice presidents, caucus chairman, board members and other officials will be elected.
MTI
Cover photo: Imre Komjáthi and Ágnes Kunhalmi became the two co-presidents of the MSZP/ Photo: Facebook / Hungarian Socialist Party
