Budapest’s financial situation is becoming increasingly dire, with the latest reports suggesting the city could become insolvent as early as the last quarter of this year, jeopardising essential public services. Both a government-commissioned audit and a report by the State Audit Office (ÁSZ) concluded that the Hungarian capital is on the verge of a “technical bankruptcy”.
Only one month of reserves left
Mayor Gergely Karácsony has repeatedly stressed that the crisis is no longer a warning but a reality. According to Krisztina Baranyi, mayor of District IX., the city currently has HUF 22 billion (EUR 56.3 million) in its accounts, while monthly operating costs reach nearly HUF 20 billion (EUR 51.2 billion). Reports from ÁSZ and the Capital Audit Expert (FÁSZ) warn that without government assistance, Budapest will face severe shortfalls in the coming months, potentially threatening public transport and basic city operations.
According to Telex’s report, several factors have contributed to the financial troubles: the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, rising energy prices, soaring inflation, and the growing burden of government-mandated budgetary contributions. One of the biggest concerns is the so-called solidarity contribution, which has risen to HUF 89 billion (approx. EUR 228 million) in 2025. The city’s budget could not fully accommodate this amount, worsening the financial strain.
Public services OR state contributions
At the Budapest General Assembly, both Karácsony and Baranyi made it clear: without funds, the city cannot pay for services. “The situation is very simple now: either buses run, and the lights stay on, or we pay the state its dues,” the mayor stated. The Fidesz group in the Assembly, however, rejected the ÁSZ report, while the government has avoided meaningful dialogue for months.
The potential collapse of the capital would not only endanger Budapest but also pose risks to the entire national budget. An international credit rating agency noted that the city’s rating is closely tied to Hungary’s overall rating, meaning that a bankruptcy could harm the country’s financial reputation as well.
According to Karácsony, the only real solution is government negotiations and some form of financial assistance. For now, however, it appears the government is waiting until the last possible moment, while the city leadership continues to seek contact with Minister Gergely Gulyás. The future of Hungary’s capital thus remains at the mercy of political bargaining and government decisions.
With boring predictability, here we go again…
And with equally boring predictability, so do I!
Budapest is an economic powerhouse, eclipsing the rest of the country. Even with the “solidarity contribution,” which a Commie like Karacsony should surely welcome and gladly render (after all, wanting to keep what you earn is a dirty capitalist concept!), Budapest should be rolling in wealth.
That it’s not can ONLY be attributed to gross mismanagement. And as sure as night follows day, old socialist Karacsony and his band of merry losers do grossly mismanage Budapest’s wealth. They lavish it on globalists’ pet projects, such as useless bicycle tracks, instead of things that actually help those who make money and things that help those who WANT to make money to do it. “Free” everything for the unproductive ain’t it!
Wake up, you dipstick, and even more so, wake up those who voted for these dipsticks!
Surely we need to vote out Fidesz from the government so they will not extort more money from Budapest budget just because city people voted “wrong”. Fidesz does not care about the people; they care about themselves and only about people who agree with them. Everyone else is an enemy to Fidesz and therefore cooperation with Fidesz is impossible as we can read from the article above.
There is mismanagement, at the top of government. While Victor doles out money to all of his backers, he drains Budapest to pay for it! The mayor is no more a communist than Steiner is an educated poster, always throwing out falsehoods to protect his pals in government.