Péter Márki-Zay
Péter Márki-Zay (born 9 May 1972)[2] is a Hungarian politician, marketer, economist and electrical engineer. He is the mayor of Hódmezővásárhely since 2018,[6][1] as well as the cofounder of the Everybody's Hungary Movement (Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom; MMM).[7][8]
Péter Márki-Zay | |
---|---|
Mayor of Hódmezővásárhely | |
Assumed office 3 March 2018[1] | |
Preceded by | István Almási |
Personal details | |
Born | [2] Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary | 9 May 1972
Spouse(s) | Felícia Márki-Zayné Vincze[3] |
Children | Ferenc, Lilla, Teodóra, Gellért, Emma, Lóránt, Pál[4] |
Alma mater | Pázmány Péter Catholic University |
Profession | politician, marketer, economist, and electrical engineer[5] |
Political career
In 2018, Márki-Zay announced that he would be running as an independent candidate in the Hódmezővásárhely mayoral by-election. His candidacy was initially supported by three opposition parties, including the Hungarian Socialist Party, Politics Can Be Different and Jobbik,[9] with Momentum and the Democratic Coalition endorsing him a few days later.[10] Márki-Zay has said that he did not sympathise with the views of any of the parties supporting him, describing himself as a right-wing Christian, and a disappointed Fidesz voter.[11]
Despite the historically unprecedented unity of the opposition parties backing him, his candidacy was initially seen as a long-shot by many observers, owing to Fidesz's popularity in the city,[12] as well as Márki-Zay's political inexperience.[13] On 25 February 2018, he defeated Zoltán Hegedűs by 13076 votes to 9468,[6][14] becoming the city's first non-Fidesz mayor since 1990.[15] He assumed office on 3 March, with Andrea Kis from the Hungarian Socialist Party as his deputy mayor.[16]
Following his success, Márki-Zay has continued to advocate for a nationwide unity between opposition parties.[17] In 2018, he founded the non-partisan Everybody's Hungary Movement (Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom; MMM) in order to further cooperation between opposition parties,[18] and to support representative democracy.[7]
During his first term as a mayor, Márki-Zay has vowed to fight for transparency. He revealed that the city was in a much worse financial situation than previously reported.[19] He also made the donations to the city's sports clubs public[20] and revealed that the city's previous leadership regularly failed to pay overtime to their workers.[21] However, his time was not without controversy. He was fined for libel on multiple occasions[22][23] and ordered to remove a "migrant counter" he placed inside the city hall.[24]
In 2019, Márki-Zay ran for reelection, this time under the banner of MMM, as well as the Organisation for a Clean Vásárhely (Tiszta Vásárhelyért Egyesület). His candidacy was once again supported by all major opposition parties. He defeated the Fidesz-backed independent candidate István Grezsa by 13478 votes to 10042, earning him a second term as the city's mayor.[25]
Personal life
Márki-Zay is married to Felícia Vincze, a midwife and physicist. They have seven children.[11][26] Márki-Zay is a Roman Catholic.[27]
References
- Sarkadi, Zsolt (3 March 2018). "Beiktatják Márki-Zay Pétert". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Cservenák, Zoltán (24 January 2018). ""Fel kell szabadítani a várost" – Márki-Zay Péter útja a polgármesteri csatáig". Magyar Narancs (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Biró, Marianna (1 February 2019). "Gyermekhalál-ügyben vették össztűz alá Márki-Zay Péter feleségét". Index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Török, Anita (25 October 2009). "5 év után 7 gyermekkel tértek haza". Délmagyar (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Elnökség". mindenkimagyarorszaga.hu. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Hódmezővásárhely időközi polgármester-választás". valasztas.hu (in Hungarian). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Nagy nevekkel indult el Márki-Zay Péter mozgalma". HVG (in Hungarian). 1 January 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Does Péter Márki-Zay's new movement pose a threat to Fidesz?". Hungarian Spectrum. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Dull, Szabolcs (5 January 2018). "MSZP-Jobbik-LMP egységfront bontakozik ki Lázár János városában". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Urfi, Péter (7 January 2018). "A Momentum és a DK is felsorakozik a független hódmezővásárhelyi jelölt mögé". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- G. Tóth, Ilda (25 February 2018). "Márki-Zay Péter a HVG Portréban: "Soha nem azonosultam sem a baloldallal, sem a Jobbikkal"". HVG (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Hungary: surprise defeat for Viktor Orbán in bellwether byelection". The Guardian. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Sarkadi, Zsolt; Halász, Júlia (13 January 2018). "Ha Lázár János a lovát indítaná el a választáson, akkor az is megnyerné". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Karasz, Palko (26 February 2018). "Hungary's Opposition Sees Hope After Orban's Candidate Falls". New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "To run against Fidesz might be injurious to your health: The case of Péter Márki-Zay". Hungarian Spectrum. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Sarkadi, Zsolt (3 March 2018). "A hódmezővásárhelyi MSZP vezetőjét kérte fel Márki-Zay alpolgármesternek". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Jenei, Miklós (1 March 2018). "Márki-Zay: Csak egy módja van a kormányváltásnak". index.hu. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Varga, Krisztián (17 October 2018). ""Dokumentum aláírva – hamarosan jöhet Márki-Zay ellenzéki egyesülete". atv.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Négymilliárdos adóssággal szembesült Márki-Zay Péter". Hír TV (in Hungarian). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Márki-Zay visszaszúr a szívatásért: a tao-pénzek is nyilvánosak lesznek Hódmezővásárhelyen". HVG (in Hungarian). 20 March 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Márki-Zay: Volt olyan önkormányzati dolgozó, akinek ezernél is több kifizetetlen túlórája volt". HVG (in Hungarian). 16 January 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Lovas, Gergő (20 December 2018). "Márki-Zayt 800 ezerre büntették egy kórházra tett megjegyzése miatt". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Joób, Sándor (24 April 2019). "Két újabb pert veszített kijelentései miatt Márki-Zay Péter". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Botos, Tamás (13 March 2018). "Leszedették Márki-Zay migránsszámlálóját". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- "Hódmezővásárhely települési választás eredményei". valasztas.hu (in Hungarian). 13 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Balavány, György (26 June 2019). "Elég nagy baj, hogy Márki-Zay veri a gyerekeit, de még nagyobb, hogy büszkélkedik vele". 24.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- Urfi, Péter (12 January 2018). "Márki-Zay arra kéri katolikus testvéreit, hogy imádkozzanak vele a megbékélésért, miközben a plébános a szószékről buzdítja a híveket, hogy szavazzanak a Fideszre". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.