Hungarian Alliance Wants to Negotiate with Other Parties, Gyimesi Expelled

Kosice, April 5 (TASR) - The extra-parliamentary Magyar Szovetseg - Hungarian Alliance party on Saturday in Kosice approved 13 points about which it wants to talk to the inhabitants of the southern parts of Slovakia, as well as to negotiate about them with other political parties, Hungarian Alliance chairman Laszlo Gubik stated following the party's republican council meeting, also confirming that the ethics committee had decided at the end of March to expel former MP Gyorgy Gyimesi from the party. "The 13 points I made in my speech will become the programme of the Hungarian Alliance. We want to consult them with people in rural areas, in towns, with Hungarians, with other nationalities living in the south of Slovakia, because we want to know their opinion as well," said Gubik. According to him the points relate to areas such as minority rights, regional development, and support for farmers. The Hungarian Alliance wants to negotiate them with coalition and opposition parties, looking for potential partners. In doing so, Gubik stressed the party's political philosophy. "We aren't going into this according to ideologies, but according to an agenda of local patriotism, because the most important issues and topics for us are those that are of concern to the Hungarian community and citizens living in the southern districts of Slovakia," he told reporters. Concerning Gyimesi, the party reported that the members of the ethics committee had taken the decision to expel him unanimously and in accordance with the statutes. Among other things, they took into consideration that "through his statements, he has long and systematically held views which aren't in line with the official heading of the Hungarian Alliance". Gyimesi made it to Parliament in the last election term on the OLANO slate, but in 2023 he broke with the party and switched to the Alliance. According to Gubik, if the politician doesn't appeal within 15 days, the decision to expel him will be valid. "It is denigration of members of own party and of the programme statements, in my opinion, this is not tolerated in any modern political party," said the chairman, naming the reasons for the expulsion. am