Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán: People support cap on fuel prices

Well above 80 percent of Hungarians agree with the cap on fuel prices, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public radio Kossuth on Friday.

Orbán said “we are in a fight with the left about reducing public utility fees” recently expanded to include fuel prices. “The development of petrol prices has been left to the market so far and it is best if the government does not need to interfere but there are certain situations when government involvement becomes necessary,” Orbán said.

“One must not sit idly when prices go sky high”, and when all experts project prices to remain high for a longer period, a government reaction is needed, he said. High fuel prices not only affect the costs of driving but also make their way in other prices, he added.

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Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán

Calculations have been made about what the market can tolerate, and the result was 480 forints per litre, so “we stepped on the break there”, Orbán said.

The left has always called for market-based utility fees but “we say that there should be fixed prices and not market prices in areas belonging to the subsistence of households”, he said.

“When the market cannot resolve problems, we need to interfere, keeping in mind that this can only be a temporary measure,” Orbán said.

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Source: MTI