Opposition parties address parliament's autumn opening session

Addressing parliament's opening autumn session on Monday in which Prime Minister Viktor Orban promised government cooperation "to all mayors and local councils that are themselves ready to cooperate", opposition leaders said the outcome of the local elections heralded a new era for successful opposition cooperation. Peter Jakab, leader of the Jobbik parliamentary group, said "the reunification of the nation" had begun on the day of the local election, and voters had signalled their intention to change the government in the 2022 general election. Bertalan Toth, the Socialist Party's group leader, pledged the opposition would continue its cooperation. "We'll be working together up to 2022". Leader of the Democratic Coalition (DK), Ferenc Gyurcsany, qualified the outcome of the local elections as an uprising against the ruling parties. Whereas he said he did not want to argue over who had won the elections, it was clear that the more politically significant localities had voted for the opposition, and this had sent "a clear message".