BRATISLAVA, January 8, (WEBNOVINY)- The non-parliamentary ethnic-Hungarian party SMK will have a congress in the spring of this year, which will pick a new leadership for the party. The current one was temporarily selected at an extraordinary congress in July of last year following election fiasco of the party. At the congress chairman Pal Csaky was replaced by former parliamentary deputy Jozsef Berenyi who got support of overwhelming majority. The old chairmanship offered its resignation after the party scored a mere 4.33 percent in the June 12 elections. The congress dealt as well with the reasons for this fiasco, which has cost SMK place in parliament. Delegates mainly criticized the election campaign and statements of SMK representatives for media.
Berenyi told SITA that the Republic Board sits on January 15 to set the timetable for reshuffles in the party’s local, district, regional and also national structures. Berenyi wants to propose that the congress takes place either in late April or early May but he admitted that the Republic Board will have the biggest say.
Berenyi said he feels support inside the party and thus he plans to run for re-election. He has an impression that the situation in the party has calmed down following the municipal elections last November, which is partly his merit, he thinks.
However he should compete for the top post with his predecessor Pal Csaky who wants to run for chairman as well. Csaky admitted such possibility after the July congress. Berenyi said he does not exclude such development but underscored that this question should be rather addressed to Csaky. He said that he has not talked about the topic with Csaky yet.
SITA