Svobodna Dnevnik

[Hadash]

El Correo Internacional

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Béla Kertész is elected President of the Keszarian Republic
By: Mauricio Kovács-Tomillo
Published: Dosa 6, 1584


There weren't surprises and Béla Kertész became the sixth president of the Keszarian Republic.

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Béla Kertész was elected President of the Keszarian Republic yesterday, after defeating his rival, the nationalist Istzám Esterházy, the leader of the controversial National People's Party by a landslide 67.8% against 32.2%. The turnout was, however, nine points lower than in the first round, three weeks ago.

Kertész victory was more than expected, as he had obtained 39.8% in the first round, almost twenty points higher than Esterházy, who obtained 19.9%. It was more uncertain who was going to be his rival in the runoff rather than his victory itself, as both Esterházy and Ákos Négyesy, the leader of the Communist Party, had closing results in most of polls during the last four months. However, Négyesy only obtained a 14.4% of the vote, ending behind the CDU-PDS candidate Zándor Donáth who obtained 16.5%.

Donáth, who had become the interim leader of the centrist CDU-PDS only a few months before, following the resignation of Nándor Vajda after the 1583 Senate elections, obtained a better than expected result, more than ten points above the CDU-PDS had obtained in the Upper House elections. Donáth, despite all his strong criticism to the ruling Keszarian Democratic Party and President Géza Békésy, decided to endorse Kertész in the second, as most political parties did, in order to avoid the far-right National People's Party to win the presidency.

Béla Kertész, 64, is a veteran politician, he was Minister of Education in the early 1560s, during Messanic Democratic Party Árpad Ormandy's presidency. He served as senator from 1567 to 1575, and remained a member of the Messanic Democratic Party until 1580, when he joined the Keszarian Democratic Movement, the political party created by President Géza Békésy. Not much is expected from Kertész presidency, who lacked the charisma of other past Keszarian presidents and avoided much exposure during the presidential campaign, and he's expected to continue with the policies of President Géza Békésy. If anything, he is expected to be more conservative on moral issues, but noto big changes are expected on the economic policy, with the country experiencing increasing growth in the last years.

It is not clear what role will have Géza Békésy once he leaves office in a month, as he is expected to remain highly influencial in the Keszarian Democratic Movement. Békésy has become in the second Keszarian president to have a successor from his own political party, so his influence is not expected to fade away immediately.