Two Hungarian parties discuss forming coalition

The governing Most-Hid party and the extra-parliamentary ethnic Hungarian SMK party met on Monday to discuss co-operation for next year's parliamentary elections, they said after meeting. Most-Hid came to the talks with suggested terms of co-operation, proposing an election coalition with SMK. Most-Hid vice-chair Ábel Ravasz stressed that the two parties must respect each other's identity. "SMK is an ethnic group, Most-Hid is rather an inter-ethnic party. This can't be changed," said Ravasz. SMK vice-chair Ildikó Agócs Kőrösi said after the meeting that the conditions discussed were quite constructive, and could provide a good basis for negotiations. Both parties hope to be in Parliament as well as the Government after the 2020 election, and recognize - with Most-Hid's approval ratings falling - that only by forming a coalition can they ensure that they will exceed the 5-percent threshold needed to guarantee parliamentary representation for the Hungarian minority.