Opposition LMP blasts bill on highlighted Budapest developments

Green opposition LMP has slammed a recent government-initiated bill on highlighted developments in Budapest, saying that it would “completely destroy” local government autonomy.

According to the bill submitted on Monday, future developments in Budapest will receive highlighted status if, among other conditions, they are financed by the government or by the European Union. The bill also defines “top international sporting event”. A state nonprofit will be responsible for the preparation of key developments in Budapest, investments, planning and licensing, as well as the organisation of major international sporting events.

Lawmaker Antal Csárdi told a news conference on Tuesday that the bill would allow the government to carry out developments in the capital “as it pleases”.

He said this was the government’s way of “punishing” Budapest residents for the general election.

In the April 8 election, the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance won six out of Budapest’s 18 electoral districts, while opposition candidates carried the rest.

Fearing the political backlash that would follow if it cut funding for Budapest, the government is now reverting to nationalisation instead of going through with fair tendering processes, he said. Csárdi insisted that the government wanted to carry out development projects in Budapest according to a “Fidesz methodology” that would exclude locals from the projects.

He also criticised the cabinet for not having consulted the Budapest metropolitan council on its plans, adding that Fidesz was “committing violence against the rule of law”.

Csárdi said the new bill also meant that the government was throwing away the municipal council’s long-term regional development strategy.

The lawmaker also criticised the bill’s introduction of the concept of a “top international sporting event”. “It looks like Prime Minister Viktor Orbán doesn’t want to abandon the thought of staging the Olympics in Budapest,” he said.

Featured image: MTI

Source: MTI