Orbán: National consultation to be launched on epidemic measures

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced in a radio interview on Friday the launch of a new public survey carried out by the government dubbed “National Consultation”. The survey will gauge the public’s opinion on a range of issues connected with the novel coronavirus epidemic and measures to restart the economy.

In the interview to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, the prime minister said the questionnaire was ready for the most part, and the survey, to be sent to households by post, was expected to get under way as early as this afternoon.

One question on the survey concerns financier George Soros and his “plan” to issue perpetual bonds that, Orbán insisted, would lead to “debt slavery”.

He said the introduction of the emergency legal order had been “one of the best decisions of the past ten years”.

The speed of decision-making was of the essence, he said, adding however that having won “the first battle” against the epidemic, the government’s enhanced powers were no longer needed. Heeding parliament, “the government can no longer issue a decree on a matter where a law needs to be made,” he said.

Orbán noted that the epidemic is not yet over and that experts predict a second wave in the autumn. “We must be prepared for it.” The government will maintain readiness and the operative board will continue to carry out its work, the prime minister said. Also hospitals will continue to be overseen by a central command and the chief medical officer will be handed enhanced powers, he said.

Orbán insisted that Hungary’s fight against the virus had been more successful than in western Europe because key decisions such as school closures and border shutdowns had been made more promptly thanks to the government’s emergency powers.

He said it was possible, however, that infections may increase in closed spaces such as care homes and hospitals, so vigilance must be maintained. A new unit has been set up to deal with any spike in infections anywhere in the country, he said. The unit will be deployed to any hotspots to prevent the infection spreading.

Orbán dismissed the charge made by the opposition that he ran a dictatorship.

Commenting on the European Commission’s draft seven-year EU budget and the 750 billion euro recovery fund, the prime minister noted that the latter would be a jointly guaranteed loan and therefore a kind of “European bond”. Given its 30-year horizon, debt “will be hanging above the heads of our grandchildren”, he said, adding that it was conceivable that any single country may not be able to make their repayments, increasing the burden on the rest.