Coronavirus – Budapest Mayor Karácsony takes over municipal assembly tasks and competencies

During the state of emergency introduced as a response to the new coronavirus epidemic, Mayor Gergely Karácsony will take over the tasks and competencies of the Budapest municipal assembly, the municipal website budapest.hu said on Tuesday.

Karácsony has not convened the assembly for its regular March session, citing the state of emergency and a risk of infection to the councillors, the website said.

To ensure transparency, Karácsony said he would consult with the party group leaders before making decisions on issues that would have been on the body’s agenda.

Protective masks to be distributed to social workers

The metropolitan council will distribute 35,000 protective masks to social workers and make parking free-of-change for Budapest hospital staff, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Monday.

In a video message on Facebook, Karácsony said he had written a letter to hospital directors asking them to specify which health workers should get free parking in order to help them carry out their duties.

He also said that efforts are being made to provide more protective equipment for the capital and districts.

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Fidesz reaction

Zsolt Láng, group leader of ruling Fidesz in the municipal assembly, said that Karácsony has assumed tasks and competencies as required by law in an emergency situation, expressing hope that it would not serve “either political or PR purposes”. He said that upon Karacsony’s initiative they would be ready to consult with the mayor about planned measures.

“In an emergency, such as the current pandemic, it is just natural that elected leaders and experts are given authority to operate the state and protection effectively. This is the attitude we would have expected from opposition politicians in Parliament,” Láng said.

Meanwhile, Karácsony decided on Tuesday to allocate 1 billion forints (EUR 2.8m) to cover the cost of coronavirus-related emergency measures, the website said.

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Source: MTI