Two steps are necessary for Dávid Vitézy to win the mayoral election from the middle. After the changed political situation, the city politician spoke about this, among many other things.

Friday brought a significant turn in the mayoral election campaign, after Alexandra Szentkirályi, the Fidesz candidate, announced her withdrawal. In relation to the changed situation, Index and others asked Dávid Vitézy about how

• what about the sudden support of Fidesz,

• to what extent the government's policy towards the capital can change,

• what trends did you perceive during the course of the campaign,

• how he is affected by personal comments made in a heightened mood.

By announcing the withdrawal of the mayoral candidate Alexandra Szentkirályi, she redirected her supporters to you. Didn't this Fidesz tailwind overturn the image of the professional in the middle?

I was also surprised by Alexandra Szentkirályi's decision, but neither my program nor my political position has changed. My goal is still to be able to lead Budapest on a professional basis and to bring about change in those arenas that are still dominated by the battle of the two major political sides. Nothing happens in this city because of snobbery and snobbery, but the commitments in my program and what I said in the campaign are still valid, and we will make changes along these lines, whether it's about greening, traffic development, housing or the preservation of cultural freedom. I will not form a coalition with either Fidesz or DK, and I will not have such a deputy.

More than 50 percent of voters would trust Dávid Vitézy to lead Budapest - it was revealed based on the latest public opinion poll of the Nézőpont Institute. After the resignation of Alexandra Szentkirályi, more people believe that Karácsony will lose on Sunday (46 percent) than those who think she will win the election (42 percent).

The survey showed that the absolute majority of Budapest residents (52 percent) would vote for Dávid Vitézy, the joint candidate of the LMP-Greens and the NGO Vitézy with Dávid for Budapest. Gergely Karácsony, the candidate of the Gyurcsány coalition, would be voted for by only 45 percent of the capital's voters. Based on these, it seems that Dávid Vitézy managed to appeal to voters from Gergely Karácsony's 2019 circle of 51 percent supporters. As an unlikely challenger, András Grundtner, the candidate of Mi Hazánk, has a circle of sympathizers of no more than 3 percent.

To what extent did Fidesz's call for support strengthen his position in his battles with János Lázár - for example, regarding the relocation of the Transport Museum to Debrecen?

With the announcement of Alexandra Szentkirályi, I think we are leaving the Budapest policy marked by the name of János Lázár behind us, as a program that is about the development of Budapest has also received support in this way. This is an important success, and the next success will be overcoming the complaining and pointing at others city hall politics of Ferenc Gyurcsány and Gergely Karácsony. These two steps are necessary in order to be able to win this election on Sunday by offering professional leadership from the middle, instead of the two major political parties, and then to realize our Budapest vision for the citizens of the capital.

The government did not consult with me, they made a unilateral decision, I have not spoken to Alexandra Szentkirályi in the last two years,

I am not in contact with any other leading politician of Fidesz either, so I regard the support call as not addressed to me personally, but to my program. On the other hand, they can expect that during the negotiations with the government - whether it is about the development of maxi-Dubai or the Chinese high-speed railway - I will consistently represent them. To make a change, they stood behind the only possible challenger, which is me today.

How would you convince the "gifted" Fidesz voters not to vote for Fidesz on the list, but for your alliance?

It is clear that we have very different interests and positions on this issue. We compiled a list of specialists because only with them can we overcome the expert camp logic. Anyone who agrees with this goal and the contents of our program must also see that we can create a majority in the general assembly only by voting for our list. I do not want and will not form a coalition with either Fidesz or DK, I will not have a deputy from either party, and I do not want to see party cadres on the boards of companies. I am asking for your support for this.

Gergely Karácsony took an unexpected action on the night of the campaign closing event: he encouraged his followers to stick Dávid Vitézy's posters with a sticker edited by his team. The operation was presented by the mayor himself.

Do you have up-to-date information about the current state of support for the LMP-Vitézy joint list according to measurements?

I think the retraction covered everything, the previous data is no longer valid. A week ago, I maintained that retreat was not a realistic scenario. According to my changed feeling, the mayoral debate organized on Partizán. Then something broke; Alexandra Szentkirályi did not dare to stand up, while Gergely Karácsony practically collapsed and only smiled confusedly. To date, more than 450,000 people have witnessed this, which is more than the number of votes a mayor has ever won an election with.

Just referring to this debate, Gergely Karácsony called you an aggressive little pig because of your offensive debate style. Do you plan to change the pushiness of the person you know?

I don't take this personally, he's obviously in a difficult situation, that's why he says such rude things. I did not qualify him in this discussion, I only asked him questions that may still be allowed. I asked if he would step back in accordance with his promise, since he said in 2019 that he would not run in the 2024 election if he did not, for example, fulfill his promise to make all public institutions owned by the capital city accessible. He didn't fulfill it. I asked him about such matters, because I believe that this is the task of the challenger. As a result of the debate, my disadvantage against her decreased and my advantage against Alexandra Szentkirályi increased. By withdrawing, Fidesz avoids reaching the very embarrassing third place and ensures the possibility of change in Budapest with the support of the only possible challenger and his program.

Point of View Institute

Source: Point of View Institute

Gergely Karácsony openly campaigns for the leader of the Kutypárt list. How will Baranyi cooperate with the Krisztinas?

I think that in the last 36 hours there is no point in complicating the subsequent cooperation in the General Assembly by dissecting such issues, I want to propose joint work based on my program, and I want to avoid that statements made in the heat of the campaign hinder this later.

Péter Magyar votes invalidly in the mayoral election because he does not see a normal vision for Budapest. Have you already indicated your intention to cooperate with the Tisza Party?

No, but there's no need for that. Let's wait until the voters in the capital make their decision, i.e. determine the composition of the new assembly that will be established in the fall. I hope that many professionals from our list will be given representative mandates in this new board. When it is clear who the mayor is and how to create a majority, then the time will come to make contact. I consider it quite wrong how Ferenc Gyurcsány immediately started attacking me and the leader of the Tisza Party as a result of the news, but I was happy to see that Péter Magyar announced a capital program that overlaps 90 percent with my program. This can be a good starting point.

Sources: Index/Mandiner

Featured image: MTI/Zsolt Szigetváry