Those who have worked with all of the current mayoral candidates consider Alexandra Szentkirályi the most suitable.
István Tarlós, the last conservative mayor of Budapest, spoke about the upcoming municipal elections. According to Tarlós, being mayor is a "ten-trial job": you have to understand a lot of things, and he thinks Alexandra Szentkirályi, his former deputy, is clearly the most suitable for this complex task.
"He sat in the assembly for five years - already when he was there," is how István Tarlós described Gergely Karácsony's previous work in the assembly.
"I can form an objective opinion about them, since I have no plans to go back to big politics," remarked Tarlós, who says that Karácsony only makes promises but does nothing, he is constantly frightened and points to other things in connection with the constant messy cases involving him, Dávid Vitézy has an excellent memory, but he has only reached one area in which he shows extreme interest.
Alexandra Szentkirályi, the former deputy of Tarlós, however, is broad-minded, has experience as a city manager, and has considerable lobbying power.
"I am sure that Fidesz can collect the most votes in Budapest with Alexandra Szentkirályi," Tarlós pointed out. What this will be enough for will soon become clear and depends on many circumstances.
"Among the three candidates, Alexandra knows the terrain of the capital the best. Dávid Vitézy also worked alongside me, but he only sees a part of the municipal tasks, while Alexandra sees the whole thing. In addition, he communicates very well, he is at home in the humanitarian field, and he can be a good face for Budapest, because that doesn't matter either. One more thing seems certain: he has the most powerful lobbyist in terms of developments. If his staff will help him to run a positive-sounding campaign, I think he has a chance to win."
The former mayor also summarized what it takes to be a good leader of Budapest: a sense of proportion, decisiveness, sobriety, good behavior, and sensitivity.
"It is not a correct perception that only the net result matters and nothing else. Someone must have empathy for other people's joy, fear, and sorrow. It is also important that you have some understanding of everything in local government areas. This is a ten-trial session! The decathlon is also a sport where, even if someone is a good discus thrower, if they can't jump or run, they will never have a good overall result. I am thinking here that if someone shows a one-way, extreme interest, say, in the direction of transport, but looks uninterested in the other sectors of the capital municipality, then it is not certain that he will be a good mayor," Tarlós pointed out, according to
good cooperation skills are also required for the position of mayor.
"When I say that Alexandra has stronger lobbying power than any of her opponents, I also say that she is best able to cooperate with the forces on which the municipality's room for maneuver depends. I also had my disagreements with Fidesz, but there was always that basic cooperation that led to results. Now Gergely Karácsony is clearly proving what it's like when this is missing. Here, you have to find the right proportions, and I see this in Alexandra much more than in Dávid," he added.
According to Tarlós, Szentkirályi is especially envious of female politicians and "Christmas-lovers" because she reached such a high position at such a young age.
"Indeed, being the deputy mayor of Budapest at the age of 26 is no small thing. However, I'm sorry if I wade into the flower garden of the soul of the envious, but this envy is stupid! He worked with me from 2006, a kind of father-daughter relationship developed between us. I simply saw that this young man has imagination, can build and can cope with the task. That's why I asked and I was right."
Tarlós also evaluated the last five years of the reigning mayor.
"I really miss the performance, I would vote for Gergely Karácsony the least right now. The independence of the mayor is also highly questionable, to put it mildly, and on the other hand, when his name comes up in connection with a problematic case, of which there are plenty, he gets scared and immediately finds someone else to point to. Ten times out of ten, he guesses that he has been misled again, and then he lets go. He does one commission of inquiry after another, especially in cases that he was a part of. He then likes to head these committees and vote on the issue. Now, such actions of his can be interpreted more as attempts to cover up the many messy cases surrounding him. For me, these are not sympathetic symptoms".
Cover photo: István Tarlós and Alexandra Szentkirályi on July 26, 2018
Source: MTI/Nándor Veres
