Péter Márki-Zay currently serves as mayor of the city of Hódmezővásárhely in Southern Hungary.
The 49-year old economist was one of the five politicians who were racing to become the Hungarian opposition’s joint candidate for prime minister. Before the second round of the primaries, Gergely Karácsony, left-liberal mayor of Budapest withdraw from the race in favor of Mr Márki-Zay. Finally he won the primaries, defeating MEP Klára Dobrev of the DK party (its leader – and the husband of Ms Dobrev – is Ferenc Gyurcsány, former Socialist prime minister of Hungary).
Péter Márki-Zay considers himself as a christian, conservative politician. Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party called Márki-Zay a “career leftist” who would raise taxes.
“We can only win together,” Mr Márki-Zay said after the primaries, as he is preparing to lead a coalition of six, mostly left-wing anti-Orbán parties, among them Mr Gyurcsány’s DK party and the Socialists.
