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It is almost 7,500 kilometers in a straight line from Washington Luck, but it can also be said that a world separates the capital of the United States from the settlement of the Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county. Zsófia Koncz, who has a law degree and speaks three foreign languages, returned to the United States to become a member of parliament after her father, Ferenc Koncz, an educator and former mayor of Lucky, a member of parliament for Fidesz in the region , died in a tragic car accident in the summer.
Of course not at that price, but did you ever want to be a representative?
I don’t think it’s necessarily necessary that if someone is the son of a Member of Parliament and wants to deal with that in the future, it is a very difficult trajectory. I, on the other hand, really considered my father as a role model since my childhood. He had such a habit, he spoke to people like that, he tried to help them so much, it was so good to go anywhere with him, that’s why he was very interested in this profession.
He was home at the time of the accident, he would have taken me to the airport the next day, but he didn’t come home anymore. I had no intention of representing myself in that way, but during the last two months of campaigning, while touring the 42 settlements in the district, I heard so many moving and kind stories about my father, regardless of his political affiliation, that it gave me strength. I also accepted the candidacy because I felt that my father had left a legacy that had to be pursued with the same devotion as him.
Was it evidence that you were the candidate or did you think differently?
In the case of an interim election, there is not much time to think, especially due to legal requirements.
And did you ask for time to think?
Due to my father’s legacy, I didn’t think about it, I said yes right away. I will give an example of why. My father has been pushing for twenty years to make Highway 37 between Gesztely and Szerencs a two-lane highway, which is truly the dream of those who live here. If there are roads, there are also opportunities for job creation, and tourists also prefer to come to Tokaj-Hegyalja, because it can be reached safely and quickly. When this tragedy happened, it was already clear that the dream could soon become a reality.
Due to his passionate attitude and uncompromising mindset, this project has been able to get this far as there is a lot of competition for roads in the country. an idea, a set of values that you can tell people who have been open to it. For that alone, I thought I had to make it through to the end. And from the results of Sunday’s elections, it seems that those who live here thought so too.
Serious inheritance
However, the legacy he takes on is also highly charged at the same time. Facing his father, Ferenc Koncz, Mengyi “Voldemort” Roland was a member of the region’s parliament, who began his four-year prison sentence last year for various corruption cases. Did that leave its mark on the elections?
I really did this campaign to the end trying to focus on building, on positive issues, instead of dealing with the other side. The people of the constituency have now made history on Sunday, as the ruling parties have never achieved a result higher than 50 percent in this constituency, which is a very high level of confidence. We can also be proud to participate compared to an interim election, less than 30 percent went to the polls in Dunaújváros in February, and now it was 45 percent. Fortunately, somehow people are always more active than in other settlements.
In addition to the local people, the national Fidesz politicians were also active, with the exception of Viktor Orbán, almost everyone campaigned for you locally. Wasn’t the support of the Prime Minister lacking?
I visited the Prime Minister before the elections, he was the first to congratulate him on the result, so his support was absolutely there. Many people have really come to campaign alongside me, for which I am very grateful to all of them. More important than that, however, was that I was able to tour all 42 settlements during the campaign, even several times. The constituency is very complex, the problems to be solved vary from one settlement to another. The coronavirus epidemic also made the campaign difficult, since massive events could not be held, so there were knocks on the door and personal encounters. He always came home at night, in charge of these.
Did you have a dry complaint?
I wouldn’t call it a complaint, but there are tasks to be solved, yes. However, there were also problems that we were able to resolve quickly. Even at the beginning of the campaign, for example, I visited Tiszalúc, where they were told that their journey for decades was the road between Tiszalúc and Tiszadob.
Well, I went out to see the road, it was in incredible condition. I understood what happened to people.
So we decided to launch a petition that was signed by more than two thousand in one week. The Hungarian Highway was open and, as winter was such that resources remained, it was completed.
Laptop and fries
In addition to the people of Tiszalúcs, the government politicians treated you as if you were already an elected representative. He also participated in the trades, which is at least rare as a candidate. A laptop was also delivered to the Secretary of State for Innovation and Technology in the dormitory of a successful high school.
This event was part of the ITM digital collaboration program, which included the delivery of the laptop. The ministry is working to help develop digital tools not just here but elsewhere. The first wave of the coronavirus epidemic has already shown how important it is for children to have the necessary infrastructure to learn.
Yes, but the criticisms were mainly that Secretary of State Károly Solymár Károly “Hajrá, Zsófi!” did all of this with a labeled mask.
He also pushed me. That may not be a problem.
In addition to the laptop, the campaign also mentioned the distribution of potatoes. On the eve of the elections, Peter Jakab mentioned the “potato king” and said that opposition voters voted by faith and conviction, while his supporters voted for popes.
So let’s stay on top of this “potato case” to avoid more fake news. We don’t hand out chips, one of the best activists in the lucky market put my tape on a bag of chips with the words “Come on, Zsófi!” Péter Jakab later acknowledged on television that it was his action, but that it passed through the media.
Did you face the kingdom of the potato?
I did not assume it myself.
If it was mentioned that night, have you been talking to László Bíró since then? Did neither of you call the other?
No, just because of the situation and the fact that I’m the woman, maybe the other party should have called. Definitely would have called in the opposite situation. It should be added that László Bíró congratulated at least in front of the press.
They also read in his head that he had spent more than the legal amount allowed on Facebook ads alone than he could have spent on the entire campaign.
This is what we discussed about how we act in compliance with laws and regulations during the campaign. The State Audit Office is used to auditing campaigns and is likely to be audited as well.
Soon he will take the oath and assume his mandate. What will be your first thing as a representative?
Route 37 has already been discussed, where construction should start as soon as possible and the investment can be completed by 2023. The other topic that I talked about a lot in the campaign is job creation. In 2008, during the government of Gyurcsány, the fortune sugar factory, where 3,500 people worked after the Second World War, was closed, which was a great blow to the entire region. Before his death, my father worked on the creation of an insulation factory and this project is moving in the right direction. I will work to make this happen as soon as possible.
I came from america
Was the American dream broken by what happened? What were you doing there at all?
I took care of foreign policy, I worked in the construction of bilateral relations between Hungary and the United States. We built a very good relationship with the Trump administration, so it was a very intense period. And what I’m very proud of is being the coordinator in Washington for the Hungary Help to Hungary program, which was trying to help persecuted Christians. Concrete projects have also been launched here, in which we are working with the United States, for example, to jointly renovate one of Iraq’s largest Christian settlements, Karakos, and to help the Yazidis in the Sindhari region.
It was a good time, but I didn’t plan on staying in America forever, if this tragedy hadn’t happened, I would still have returned to Fortune. When I was studying in France, my schoolmates believed that Szerencs was the second largest settlement after Budapest, so I told them about the city. I’m lucky to have a house, I just didn’t want to go home like this.
(Cover image: Bánkúti Sándor / Index)
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