Budapest mayor: public transport could be halted indefinitely due to lack of funds
The Metropolitan Court of Appeal has confirmed that the solidarity contribution runs against the Fundamental Law, Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, said on Tuesday, adding that since the capital had no time to resolve the issue legally, negotiations with the government were the only way out of the current impasse. The mayor warned that if the government fails to return the capital funds, not only will public transport come to a standstill, but other essential public services will also be disrupted.
Mayor Karácsony said the court supported the capital’s position
The mayor told a press conference that the court was now turning to the Constitutional Court for the second time. Karácsony said his administration’s position was backed by a State Audit Office report and a previous Constitutional Court ruling. “Even so, the government isn’t taking the task handed down to it by the ruling seriously,” he said.
He said the court’s ruling underscored the capital’s position disputing the “scale of deprivations that are ruining Budapest”. The mayor added that since there was no time left for further legal procedures, the metropolitan council “invites the government to the negotiating table”.
Budapest can wait no longer
“If there’s no money, there are no public services, and then it’s not just BKV stopping for ten minutes—it’s for an indefinite period”, Karácsony declared in response to Blikk’s question about what pressure tactics they could use if, as the mayor said just minutes earlier, the government refuses to negotiate with them or respond to their requests.
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Karácsony emphasized that they cannot afford to wait for the Constitutional Court’s decision any longer. If the government withdraws HUF 50 billion from Budapest’s accounts this September, public services will come to a grinding halt. This significant amount was deliberately excluded from this year’s budget because several courts have ruled the withdrawal unlawful.
He warned that both time and patience are running out, especially now that negotiations have stalled.
Government: Karácsony playing politics
Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy said in response that the solidarity tax did not conflict with either the constitution or international treaties, nor did it violate the municipal charter. He said on Facebook that Karácsony had once again been playing politics and not facing up to the facts.
Nagy added that Karácsony wanted to divert attention from the fact that he had led Budapest into a catastrophic situation. Nagy said Karácsony was using a delaying tactic. The question is: “who will allow this transparent game to continue and for how long”, he added.
He said “Everyone has a heavy responsibility in this” and added that everyone must comply with their obligations and pay their taxes and solidarity contributions. “No one is above the law, no one can be exempt from this,” Nagy said.
Budapest Fidesz’s response
Alexandra Szentkirályi, leader of Orbán’s Fidesz in the capital, claimed in a Facebook post that Karácsony had significantly higher revenues than the Fidesz leadership did between 2010 and 2019. However, she criticized him for pushing Budapest’s budget to the brink of collapse. What she conveniently left out was that inflation from 2020 to 2025 was the highest in Europe, meaning the real value of those revenues is far lower than she implies.
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Oh please, Budapest would be broke even without the “solidarity” tax. Karacsony is wasting taxpayers’ money on projects that generate no income and many of which are enjoyed by those who contribute the least.
Socialist ALWAYS mismanage public finances, ALWAYS blame somebody else for it, and ALWAYS refuse to practice the solidarity they endlessly harp on about.