Budapest transport authority chief resigns due to the political conflicts tearing the capital apart

Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, has expressed regret over the resignation of Katalin Walter, the chief executive of the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK), saying she had been “driven away by the political situation in the capital”.

“Budapest has again become poorer,” Karácsony said in a post on Facebook. He said he regretted Walter’s decision to step down but understood “if someone says after yesterday’s 14-hour assembly session that it can’t go on like this”. “Because things really can’t go on like this,” he said.

Karácsony insisted the metropolitan council was “teetering on the edge” because of the government’s solidarity tax, but politics in the city assembly “produces a mixture of irresponsibility … personal attacks and dumb political theatre … that not everyone should have to tolerate”.