Századvég: majority finds Orbán ‘strong leader’ keeping country safe

Most Hungarians regard Viktor Orbán as better suited to guaranteeing Hungarian security and warding off the negative economic effects of the conflict than Péter Márki-Zay, the united opposition’s prime ministerial candidate, according to the government-close think-tank Századvég.

Fully 66 percent of Hungarians consider Orbán the stronger leader on the security question, while 25 percent said the same of Péter Márki-Zay, in the March survey. Fully 65 percent and 27 percent responded respectively on the question of who was more likely to mitigate the economic effects of the conflict on Hungary. A similar proportion responded on the question of the government’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war.

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Meanwhile, it seems that the government cannot put the protests of the Hungarian teachers to a halt. The PDSZ teacher union, which has formed a strike committee, on Wednesday called on the government to negotiate its demands concerning wages and workload.

The union wants the basic wage for teachers to match that of civil servants, while it calls for other employees working in the sector to receive no less than the minimum wage.

Among further demands, the union also wants the 22 hour limit on classroom teaching to be restored and overtime payments. PDSZ has asked the government to assign a representative for talks in the next five days.

The joint opposition promised significant payrise and a decrease in workload for the teachers if they win in April. In response, the human resources ministry on Wednesday cited the Appeal Court’s decision that strikes are to be held in line with the relevant legislation, which mandates schools to provide child care and education during strikes.

The decision “is the end of the legal dispute with unions”, the ministry said, referring to the unions’ claim that the legislation was in essence robbing teachers of the right to strike.

The ministry called on the union to “stop misleading parents and the public”.

“In the current war situation, peace and calm is needed in schools, and we ask the unions to reconsider their intention to strike,” the statement said. The government is committed to further raising teachers’ wages, the statement added.

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Source: MTI