Budapest Mayor Karácsony: government’s proposed help is a “political cudgel”
The government’s proposed law on Budapest’s finances is a “political cudgel” that fails to address any real issues, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, told a press briefing after a Hungarian Municipalities Association (MOSZ) meeting on Tuesday.
Budapest mayor threatened with prison
“The bill claims to enable city borrowing, but this is something we can do already, transparently, from commercial banks,” he said. “The only ‘innovation’ is threatening the mayor with prison for resisting the city’s financial gouging.”
The mayor called for such “hostile proposals to be abandoned for good” in favour of constructive dialogue.
Asked what happens if parliament passed the bill, Karácsony said: “They’ll open a door we won’t walk through.”
Nearly 30 towns face budgetary emergency
Meanwhile, György Gémesi, the mayor of Gödöllő and MÖSZ’s co-chairman, warned that nearly 30 towns now faced a budgetary emergency, proving the crisis extended far beyond Budapest.
Karácsony, who is the association’s other co-chairman, said MÖSZ will draft comprehensive reform proposals for the next government, “regardless of the election results”. The package to be sent to Tibor Navracsics, the regional development minister, will demand clear, transparent funding tied to defined municipal responsibilities and sustainable, inflation-proof wages for public employees, he added.
Tamás Wittinghoff, the mayor of Budaörs and a MÖSZ board member, said the entire system “must be rebuilt to restore local governance”, and he stressed the need to safeguard municipalities’ operations.
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