Karácsony promises to address accommodation problems for young people

Gergely Karácsony, the joint opposition mayoral candidate for Budapest, pomised on Monday to alleviate the accomodation problems of young people if he gets elected.

At stake in the local elections in October is whether young people leave Budapest or whether those linked to ruling Fidesz currently holding powerful positions do, Karácsony said at a joint press conference with Momentum leader András Fekete-Győr.

The ratio of young Hungarians who use their skills and education abroad is extremely high in European comparison, Karácsony said.

This is mainly due to the government’s “bad policies”, while the municipal council of Budapest has failed to make efforts to secure higher wages and lower accommodation costs for young people, he added.

Karácsony, who is the mayor of Budapest’s 14th district, noted that last year Budapest topped the global list of cities with the fastest rate of real estate price rises. He added that

a programme promoting the construction of rental accommodation and affordable homes has been drawn up in cooperation with Momentum’s experts.

He promised to set up a home affairs ombudsman’s office and regulate home purchases aimed at “financial speculation” if he gets elected.

• Rental prices still skyrocketing in Hungary

Also at stake at the election is whether the municipal council does everything after October 13 to make Budapest a hub for the knowledge-based economy in central Europe, Karácsony said. All the conditions for this are given, including universities, large Hungarian companies involved in creative sectors and IT, and the necessary capacity and knowledge, he added.

Karácsony expressed regret over Budapest not having an economic and scientific strategy, noting that he had proposed setting up a Budapest Academy of Sciences.

Fekete-Győr said the current government and regime were no allies to students.

“Hungary’s young people want more Europe and less Putin; they want much more transparency, zero corruption, and innovation”, he said. They want freedom instead of “slavery packaged as Christian freedom”, he added.

Source: mti