Budapest council

Government county commissioner tells Budapest Mayor Karácsony to ‘comply with law’

The government commissioner of Budapest has told the city’s mayor, Gergely Karácsony, to comply with the law and desist from pushing through an “unlawful budget”.

Government commissioner calls on Karácsony

Botond Sára said in a video uploaded to Facebook that Karácsony should refrain from pressing ahead with his “next unlawful measure”, accusing him of working to push an “unlawful budget” through the city assembly, saying “he doesn’t want to pay the 50 billion forints” [EUR 121.3m] in solidarity tax “that poorer localities are entitled to”.

“This is no solution to the municipality’s plight, which is close to insolvency,” Sára said. He said Karácsony was “playing for time” and this would worsen the city’s already difficult situation. “Of course, we will challenge [any] unlawful decision.”

In response, Karácsony said in a post on Facebook that a government office challenge against the Budapest budget would put the municipality’s operations at risk.

“This means, no less, that the government wants to force the city into insolvency,” he said.

He said the government office was running afoul of a municipal court decision that said “over-taxing Budapest is tantamount to confiscation”. “The government insists on taxes which the Constitutional Court has said are contrary to the right of local authorities to financial autonomy enshrined in Hungary’s Fundamental Law,” he said.

Read also:

Orbán cabinet: Budapest ‘can’t get out of paying taxes’

The Budapest municipality is going against the Constitutional Court’s decision, which in October rejected Budapest’s proposal that the solidarity tax the municipality was called on to pay to support poorer localities was unconstitutional, a state secretary of the finance ministry said on Monday.

State secretary András Tállai said that this year, 848 “wealthier” localities paid a solidarity contribution to aid 1,250 localities in performing their tasks. “It is peculiar that it is the richest city of the country, the capital, that finds supporting poorer localities difficult,” Tallai said.

Tallai said government support for local authorities will increase to 1,266 billion forints (EUR 3bn) from 1,050 billion this year, and additional funds will flow into wage costs.

In reaction to Karácsony’s statement that the city would not pay some 50 billion forints in solidarity contribution, Tállai said,

“Everyone has to comply with the law.”

Last week, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said that in a bid “to retain the municipality’s self-determination and resources,” the city’s budget had been drafted on the assumption that

“Budapest will pay as much solidarity tax to the central budget as it receives from central coffers to finance its services.”

UPDATE

Karácsony: Budapest’s real problem is ‘no money’

Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, told a conference on Monday that the capital’s “real problem” was that the municipality had “no money”.

Karácsony said at the Republikon Institute gathering that it was not especially the political gridlock in the assembly or the fact it had been impossible to appoint a deputy mayor that was holding the city back, but rather that it was in the midst of an economic crisis and had fallen victim to a government policy of blackmail.

He said the city assembly was a battleground between its biggest factions, Fidesz and the Tisza Party, both of which exploited Budapest affairs to position themselves ahead of the 2026 general election.

Recent months had shown that

“Fidesz votes no to everything”, so decisions can only be made with the ten-member Tisza faction.

Karácsony said it would be hard to overcome the gridlock if local politicians focused solely on the city’s affairs as even then “the lightning of national politics strikes above us”.

read also:

Budapest city assembly postpones deputy mayor vote amid political tensions

Budapest Mayor Karácsony urges Orbán to address housing crisis as rent prices soar

Budapest Mayor Karácsony reveals candidates for deputy positions

karácsony kiss ambrus

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony has proposed councillors Ambrus Kiss and David Vitezy for the deputy mayor posts, according to the agenda of the municipal assembly meeting set for Wednesday.

Budapest has been without a deputy mayor for almost two months now, as neither the inaugural meeting nor the first ordinary meeting could find a candidate or candidates who would pass a vote in an assembly.

Gergely Karácsony is in a minority and heavily dependent on Fides and the Tisza party. Of his former deputies, he would have liked to keep Ambrus Kiss, but Fidesz and the Tisza Party do not support this.

In any case, one of the 32 deputies has to be selected from among the 32 assembly members, which is how Vitézy came into the picture, who is also not accepted by the parties.

If elected on Nov 27, they would take up their post on the same day.

According to the mayor’s proposal, the deputy mayors would be entitled to a monthly salary of 1,350,000 forints, which is 90 percent of the mayor’s salary.

Budapest Mayor Karácsony urges Orbán to address housing crisis as rent prices soar – UPDATE

real estate Hungary Budapest

There is a housing crisis in Hungary, but especially in Budapest, with rents skyrocketing. But to solve this, we need two parties: the Orbán Government and the Budapest Mayor, who is part of the opposition.

Home rental rates in Hungary rise 9.6pc in September

Home rental rates in Hungary rose 9.6pc year-on-year in September, data compiled by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) from listings site Ingatlan.com show.

Rental rates in the capital increased 9.9pc.

In a month-on-month comparison, home rental rates edged down 0.1pc for the whole country and inched up 0.4pc in Budapest.

The monthly rental rate for a flat in Budapest’s District XIII and II, where the most rentals were listed, ranged between HUF 250,000 and HUF 350,000. The average rental rate was HUF 230,000 in Debrecen, HUF 150,000 in Pecs and HUF 160,000 in Szeged.

Karácsony and the government sees housing crisis

The Prime Minister’s recent statements suggest that the government understands that the housing situation, mainly affecting Budapest, “is unsustainable,” Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, said on Monday.

The mayor said the housing crisis was an acute challenge in a letter to the prime minister. In a Facebook post, Karacsony noted that housing price and rent increases have now outstripped growth in household incomes.

He said Budapest had proposals and specific schemes at the ready, worked out in cooperation with the staff of the European Commission and a government body, to ensure the provision of affordable rental accommodation and to convert underused publicly owned buildings into housing, which he called the biggest housing scheme of the past decades.

He added that the 20 billion forint program would be implemented once the government “finally publishes” the related tenders so that Budapest can access related EU funding.

“I am ready to negotiate … to solve the housing crisis in Budapest,” Karácsony said.

Read also: Here’s what to expect from Budapest’s real estate market in 2025

Govt could remove obstacles to using voluntary pension savings for home purchase, renovation

Related news is that Hungary’s government has drafted a measure allowing Hungarians to use savings in voluntary pension funds for home purchases or renovations, tax-free, during the 2025 calendar year.

Social consultations on the measure will start on Monday, the National Economy Ministry said on Monday.

Over 1 million Hungarians are members of voluntary pension funds. On average, they have more than HUF 2m savings per member.

Read also: Hungarian housing market: Buyer demand reaches 2-year high

UPDATE

Fidesz councillor: Budapest suffering from housing crisis

Budapest is suffering from a housing crisis and the mayor of Budapest bears responsibility for it, Alexandra Szentkirályi, Fidesz’s group leader in the Budapest Assembly, said on Facebook on Tuesday.

In his manifesto five years ago, Gergely Karacsony promised to build subsidised housing and student dormitories, “and he had a series of other fake plans that came to nothing,” Szentkirályi said. The “thousands of billions” spent in the city, she added, had yielded “zero affordable rentals or dorms”, and the municipality’s housing agency had only managed to rent out three flats.

“Karácsony and his team are trying to sweep their total housing failure under the carpet, but they are the ones leading this city. Naturally, they are expecting solutions from the government, and now that the government has had enough of their inactivity, City Hall has started to panic,” she said.

Fidesz submits proposals as opposition in the Budapest Municipal Assembly – UPDATE

Budapest

Hungary’s ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance is starting off the Budapest municipal assembly’s new term by submitting three proposals to the body, Alexandra Szentkirályi, the head of Fidesz’s Budapest chapter, said on Tuesday.

Szentkirályi said on Facebook that the Fidesz group’s first proposal calls for increasing the number of joint patrols by police and Budapest Law Enforcement Directorate (FORI) officers and creating the conditions for 24-hour patrols where necessary to bolster public safety.

Budapest police and FORI officers clocked up more than 22,500 joint patrol hours in 2018 and some 37,000 in 2019, she said, adding that the administration of Gergely Karácsony, the incumbent mayor, had reduced this to 2,022 hours.

She called on the city administration to examine the necessary powers and personnel developments to make Budapest’s streets and underpasses safer.

Szentkirályi said the second proposal concerned homelessness. It calls for assessing the situation of homeless people, quantifying the size of the homeless population, and preparing an action plan for strengthening the city’s social care system.

Szentkirályi urged the city administration to involve civil groups, churches and homeless shelters in the process.

Fidesz’s third proposal concerns public cleanliness and calls on the mayor to reinstall the 3,000 public rubbish bins that were scrapped four years ago, Szentkirályi said.

As we wrote yesterday, Péter Magyar, the leader of the opposition Tisza Party, told that Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony’s interview with news portal Telex on Monday is “full of lies and self-contradictions, details HERE.

read also – Election recap: Péter Magyar’s party wins big, Karácsony remains but may have problems in the Assembly

UPDATE

Dávid Vitézy, a politician who works with the LMP-Greens in the assembly, submitted a proposal on creating a transport police, saying on Facebook today that every passenger in Budapest “has the right to travel in a clean and orderly environment free from harassment”.

He said the proposed service should be on stand-by throughout the year, day and night, with personnel drawn from an enlarged municipality police force from January 1, 2025 at the latest.

In addition, permanent patrols should be instituted at critical points, traffic junctions and transport lines in the city, replacing the private security services commissioned by the BKK, he said.

Also, the proposal calls for further developing the BudapestGO app and customer service so passengers can report urgent problems via chat and phone.

“Sadly, passengers, drivers and ticket inspectors have experienced serious harassment 2-3 times a day in recent years … and often drunk and badly behaved passengers do not comply with regulations, yet the conditions for banning those who endanger their fellow passengers … do not currently exist…” he said.

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Magyar: Budapest mayor’s last interview ‘full of lies, contradictions’

magyar péter

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony’s interview with news portal Telex on Monday is “full of lies and self-contradictions,” the leader of the opposition Tisza Party told MTI.

“Karácsony has always had the skill to present himself as a victim to solicit pity, while he keeps promising everything to everybody but ends up not keeping the promises he makes,” Péter Magyar said in a statement ahead of the inaugural meeting of the next municipal assembly scheduled for October 4.

“A real leader fulfills their obligations mandated by law, which include seeking out candidates and solutions based on compromise. Such a leader would enter into consultation with key stakeholders and would refrain from making accusations,” Magyar said, referring to the issue of nominating a deputy mayor.

But what Karacsony had done instead, Magyar said, “was blackmail me”, asserting that he would rather not nominate anyone for deputy mayor unless Tisza supported “the men of the [previous} Gyurcsany-Bajnai government”, namely Ambrus Kiss and Csaba Tordai, to continue their work as councillors in the new assembly.

Magyar suggested that in the interview, Karácsony indicated that “unless Tisza supports ‘the strong titans of the old regime’ keeping their posts in the city’s leadership and municipal companies, he would not even draft a budget for Budapest and would let everything collapse”. “And, together with [ruling] Fidesz, they would try to shift responsibility for it to the Tisza Party.”

“The mayor stated openly that obviously he, the old leftist opposition, Fidesz and the Two-tailed Dog party linked strongly to Csaba Tordai would, too, attack the Tisza Party,” Magyar said.

“This is what is happening now… The old ruling elite’s members are now banding together and attacking the sole new political force that has potential, the one that has set it as its objective to eradicate corruption both at a municipal and a national level…”

Magyar rejected as “a lie” the claim that his party’s councilors would “not take any responsibility” in the new assembly, arguing that Tisza would nominate one councilor for equal opportunities and another one for transparency and the lustration of contracts.

“And responsibilities can only be assumed if the representatives have real powers to exercise, and not all rights and powers are delegated to the mayor,” Magyar insisted.

The Tisza Party will have ten representatives in the new municipal assembly.

read also:

Even the Fidesz-close pollster measured significant strengthening for Tisza Party, details HERE

Péter Magyar willing to waive immunity ‘if Hungary joins the European Public Prosecutor’s Office’

Budapest mayor to order restoration of Holy Crown decorations on bridge

Budapest Margaret Bridge Holy Crown decorations damaged

Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, has promised to restore the damaged decorations of the Holy Crown vandalised on Margaret Bridge a year ago, the St Istvan institute, which petitioned the mayor, said on Monday.

The institute launched an online public petition in cooperation with CitizenGo Magyarorszag for the restoration earlier this month.

It quoted the mayor as saying on public media that

“I condemn every action that seek to desecrate public monuments by removing religious or cultural symbols. Therefore I have ordered the fastest possible restoration of the cross decorations on the Holy Crown on Margaret Bridge.”

“We had to wait an entire year for this to happen but our cooperation has yielded result,” the institute said and thanked some 16,000 signatories for their support.

read also:

Flood alert issued for Budapest, traffic changes

Flood alert issued for Budapest

Based on forecasts by the national water-level service, Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, has issued a first-degree (lowest) flood alert along four stretches of the River Danube in Budapest, the mayor’s office said on Tuesday.

The lower embankment of the Danube is expected to be closed to traffic from 8 PM on Thursday, the statement said. Starting from Thursday afternoon, all cars parked in the area despite warnings to be placed on their windshield will be towed, it added.

Based on current forecasts, a higher-level flood alert may be introduced in the coming days.

The National Water Directorate General (OVF) told MTI on Monday that the water authority is prepared to protect the Danube river basin against the tidal surge caused by the significant amount of rain that has fallen in recent days and is expected to continue.

The National Technical Management Team of the water authority started working at 8 AM on Monday to coordinate the protection works. More than 60 specialists will be assigned from the Tisza water management directorates to the inter-island Danube section, it was reported.

Although the forecasts are uncertain due to unexpectedly heavy rainfall, they said, the latest calculations show that the Danube will rise to near the third degree close to Nagybajcs on Friday morning and is expected to rise above the first degree near Budapest on the weekend, approaching the lower quay.

According to the information, further rainfall was recorded in the upper Danube catchment area, with an area average of 10-18 millimetres of rain falling in the last 24 hours.

Over the next six days, water levels are expected to be above first degree at Komárom, Esztergom, Nagymaros, Budapest, Baja and Mohács, and above first degree on the Mura at Letenye, the Rába at Körmend and Győr. Water levels on the Tarna are above the level of flood protection alert level two, while on the lower reaches of the Zagyva at Jásztelek they are expected to be close to level one, they said.

It was pointed out that due to the heavy rainfall in the spring, the floodplain is subject to very dense vegetation, which slows down the flow of the river and may cause higher water levels than forecast.

“Water experts are monitoring the data 24 hours a day, monitoring the river and adapting flood protection measures to the changing situation,” the statement said.

Read also:

  • The body of the last victim of the Danube boat accident found, details HERE
  • Demonstration on the Danube: boatmen protest in Budapest, details HERE

Budapest Mayor: Trianon ‘indelible’ part of Hungarians’ life

karácsony trianon

While the trauma of Trianon is an “indelible” part of Hungarians’ life, “we must talk about the injustice but refrain from hiding behind our trauma when it comes to facing reality and today’s problems”, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Tuesday, marking National Cohesion Day, held on the anniversary of the Trianon Peace Treaties.

Marking the memorial day of the treaties concluding the First World War, which cost Hungary two-thirds of its territory, Karacsony said Budapest had to set an example in tolerance, honesty, and humanity. “Because in this city, everyone is free to love the homeland whichever way they want.”

Speaking in a rose garden planted late last year as a symbol of togetherness, Karacsony said the garden contained a plant for every Hungarian town and cities beyond the border with Hungarian communites. Budapest has been shaped by people coming from every corner of the country, “bringing their customs and cultures”, he said.

“Budapest would not be the same without the artists, architects and workers who came from Transylvania, Slovakia, Vojvodina and Transcarpathia, or the construction material transported from there,” he said.

Public e-bikes planned in Budapest from 2026

MOL bubi e-bikes

Plans are for the Budapest public to rent e-bikes from 2026 as part of the Bubi system, with the current fleet doubling and the number of stations also increasing, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, said on Tuesday.

At the press conference held at the new MOL Bubi station on the Kopaszi Dam, Karácsony said the Bubi 3.0 public bicycle rental system, starting in January 2026, would have 4,500 bicycles available at more rental points around the city.

There will be several stations, all of the micro-mobility points will be used, and significant public transport hubs outside the Hungária ring road will also be accessible with Bubi 3.0.

The mayor said it was very important that Bubi could respond to multiple needs, so

the plan is to have a fleet of 1,000 electrically powered bikes.

Katalin Walter, CEO of the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK), said the new Mol Bubi station at Kopaszi Dam is the 208th in a series of new stations. She pointed out that the number of stations has increased by about 30 percent in the last three years.

Katalin Walter said that since the launch of Bubi 2.0 in spring 2021, the number of hires has now exceeded 8 million. Daily experience also shows that the current public shuttle system, Bubi 2.0, is a “huge success”, she added.

As we wrote earlier, there will be a big change in Budapest transport: no Nyugati overpass, tram on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Avenue.

Also, as we wrote before, Budapest’s public boat transport will kickstart again on the Danube, but with a twist. Read details HERE.

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Can the Mini Dubai not be built? The Mayor of Budapest launches an online vote

mini dubai mayor of budapest

The Budapest administration is again conducting an online survey of residents’ views on how the project to redevelop the Rakosrendezo district should be carried out and whether district municipalities should continue to run specialist outpatient care facilities, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, said on Tuesday.

The question was whether the Rákosrendező project should end up like a “Mini Dubai” or a “park city”, the mayor said in a Facebook post.

Questions also remain over whether the Hungarian government should sell the area in an open international procedure or “hide behind an intergovernmental contract”.

He also noted the residents would be asked whether outpatient clinics should be “taken away by the state”, as was the case with hospitals and schools.

Video in Hungarian:

Karacsony insisted that waiting lists in the capital had been shortened, while districts were provided with extra money for outpatient specialist care.

More than a 100,000 people participated in last year’s survey dubbed residents’ assembly, when the chief questions concerned traffic on Chain Bridge and a lawsuit the capital launched against the government, he noted.

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Big change in Budapest transport: no Nyugati overpass, tram on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Avenue?

nyugati railway station budapest

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony announced on Tuesday that the forthcoming tram line connecting Budapest’s eleventh and fourth districts would mark “the most significant traffic development project in years to come”.

Addressing the project launch, the mayor noted that trams were a key plank of Budapest’s public transport system compared with other European cities. “We are still unsatisfied and want to make further developments,” he added.

Karácsony said that the new line and other parts of the project co-financed by the European Union will link parts of the city that already have a metro service, but the route require high-capacity services above ground.

As part of the Revitalising Avenues program, the inner sections of Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Avenue and Váci Avenue will undergo a makeover, with Nyugati Square set for a complete redevelopment. Plans include the removal of the current overpass at the junction, aimed at creating a more inviting and spacious urban area.

nyugati railway station budapest overpass tram
Photo: Daily News Hungary

The proposed changes aim to maintain the square’s throughput capacity while allowing traffic to cross the Great Boulevard at ground level. The introduction of high-capacity trams is expected to significantly improve commuting experiences, ensuring quicker and more comfortable journeys for passengers. Additionally, the redesigned area will serve a broader purpose, potentially transforming Nyugati Square into a vibrant and functional urban public space for Budapest residents.

tram on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky street budapest
Source: BKK

Karácsony emphasised the positive impact of the new trams, asserting that they would enable “many more people to reach their destination faster and more comfortably than now.”

Following the dispute between the Budapest municipality and the Hungarian government, passengers stand to benefit from Hungary’s new and improved public transport fee system, offering clarity on prices and passes.

  • Read also: Luxurious Mini-Dubai in Budapest: Europe’s tallest tower and a shopping mall underway, details HERE

Urban development expert Vitézy candidate for Budapest mayor

vitézy

Dávid Vitézy, an urban development expert and former state secretary in charge of public transport, has announced that he will run for Budapest mayor in the upcoming municipal elections.

In a video streamed on Facebook, Vitézy pledged “real development rather than party political fights, empty promises and the shunning of responsibility”.

Among the problems currently facing Budapest, Vitézy mentioned a housing shortage, saying “there aren’t enough affordable homes for sale and rents are too high”.

He insisted that suburban public transport services were sub-standard, while health services were deteriorating. Budapest’s public areas “are unattractive”, he said, citing a dearth of parks and pedestrian areas. “Areas outside the Grand Boulevard have been neglected, with all funds used to develop the tourist-beaten tracks of the Inner City,” he said.

Those problems, Vitézy said, had been neglected because

“Budapest has been made a battlefield of political parties … with the war between the two sides suffocating all developments: while the government blocks all major projects the city leadership acts as a martyr and falters — even when they have to opportunity to make progress.”

“We cannot wait for those to resolve the problems of Budapest who have caused those very problems,” Vitézy said, adding that he had comprehensive plans for “further developments, new parks, public spaces, renewal of the local train, new tramlines and affordable housing built on brownfield sites.”

As we wrote earlier, Fidesz nominated spokeswoman Szentkirályi as Budapest’s mayoral candidate; details HERE. This also means that Fidesz voters will be split between two candidates, which favours the current leadership.

Mayor Karácsony reacts

Mayor Gergely Karácsony posted his reaction:

After my election as Mayor, I asked Dávid Vitézy to take on a professional role. He said he couldn’t do it because Viktor Orbán wouldn’t let him, and he didn’t want to be a soldier who fled from North Korea to South Korea and was shot in the back by his own people. He was not allowed to do a professional job, now he is being sent to do a political one. No matter. Free Budapest takes in refugees and defeats invaders.

 

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A gigantic improvement: planning for Budapest Ring Road renovation set to start this year

Budapest Ring Road.

Planning for the revamp of a major section of Budapest’s Ring Road linking Petőfi Bridge and Margaret Bridge is set to begin this year, with the first stage of the renovation works expected to get under way next year, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Thursday.

The renovation of the section between Nyugati Square and Mester Street is expected to be completed by the end of the next city administration term, Karácsony said in response to a question at a press conference.

The mayor spoke after a cabinet meeting in Budapest‘s 7th district, where the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th districts signed an agreement on the project.

The project will be financed from 4 billion forints (EUR 10.3m) in European Union funds, as well as city council and district resources, Karácsony said. In addition to renovating the physical space, the project is aimed at creating a uniform image for the city, he said, adding that this will be linked with a business development scheme.

Karácsony said the study preceding the project had already been carried out in the form of a “broad social dialogue”.

He said in response to questions that the city council will use its own resources to repave the road, adding that the districts will be responsible for repairing their own pavement sections.

Karácsony said the city would not be starting the planning from scratch, as a comprehensive plan to renovate the Ring Road had already been approved back in 2021.

He said the project will increase the size of green areas, protect the existing tree line, add better protected bicycle lanes, improve the quality of the pavement and add more crosswalks.

Plans also include the launch of a credit scheme for microbusinesses with a view to attracting socially productive businesses to the Ring Road, Karácsony said.

Tamas Soproni, the mayor of the 6th district, said it was important to refurbish the facade of the buildings along the Ring Road that were damaged in the Second World War and the 1956 revolution. He said it would also be important to open up to cultural institutions and civil society, adding that the districts should incentivise proprietors on the Ring Road to also attract businesses “other than pubs” to the area.

Meanwhile, asked about cooperation among the opposition parties in this year’s local elections, Karácsony said the parties included in Budapest’s leadership remained committed to staying united.

“We may not contest the elections on a joint list, but certainly as one political community,” he said, adding that certain disagreements regarding the mayoral candidates still had to be settled.

read also: Budapest starts metro and tram development

As we wrote earlier, Mayor Gergely Karácsony has hinted at a potential overhaul of Budapest’s parking regulations, drawing inspiration from Paris. Could this signal a significant shift following the upcoming municipal elections? Details HERE.

We also wrote a month ago, that traffic jams have decreased most in Budapest, details HERE.

Budapest mayor Karácsony marks Day of Hungarian Culture

mayor karácsony budapest

“Hungary’s diverse culture must be made widely available,” Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said in a Facebook post marking the Day of Hungarian Culture on Monday.

Referring to the first decades of the 19th century, Karácsony said it had been a time when “culture ceased to be a privilege and became a public asset… That is the task now: to make it available for the masses and to present it as an experience.”

Concerning culture and art, Karácsony said: “No political power should be an unwelcome critic or, even worse, a censor… Art is free, and so are artists; in Budapest they are.”

Karácsony said that in “sad times”, culture needed to be promoted and supported, adding that “the dividing line between politics and culture should be respected, and Budapest’s cultural assets and institutions protected and supported by all available means.”

“A wise city leadership sees greater variety as a source of greater wealth,” Karácsony quoted author György Konrád as saying.

The Day of Hungarian Culture has been observed ever since 1989 to mark the anniversary of the completion of Ferenc Kölcsey’s Hymn, the poem that later became Hungary’s national anthem, on January 22, 1823.

Budapest Mayor Karácsony: 2023 brought ‘celebration and ordeal at the same time’

Karácsony

For Budapest, 2023 was a celebration and an ordeal at the same time, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Monday in a New Year’s video.

Karácsony said challenges included the war in neighbouring Ukraine which came on the heels of the pandemic, the energy crisis, inflation, a flood and “the anti-Budapest policy of the government”. At the same time, metro line 3 and the Chain Bridge have been renovated while the capital celebrated its 150th birthday.

“If 2023 was the year of survival, then 2024 must be the year of preparation for an uncertain, unpredictable future full of many doubts and perhaps sometimes fears,” the mayor said.

Karácsony said that just like in Europe, resilience must also be a key word for Budapest and the city’s strength and freedom should be increased so it can defend itself and adapt when necessary.

He said Budapest‘s strength came from its community.

“It is the capital of solidarity, fairness, and acceptance, even if there are those who want the inhabitants of the rest of the country’s settlements to hate it for this very reason,” he added.

  • Christmas miracle: Scaffolding removed from façade of iconic Nyugati Railway Station – PHOTOS
  • Calvinist university city to be built in Budapest’s heart – details HERE

Large crowd gathered at the anti-government demonstration in Budapest

Large crowd gathered at the anti-government demonstration in Budapest

Civil organisations and teacher and student movements held a protest demanding freedom in education in Budapest on Monday.

The protesters gathered in Heroes’ Square and also demanded higher wages for teachers before marching in streets around Andrassy Street and down to Oktogon.

The demonstrators waving national, European Union and Ukrainian flags stopped outside Kölcsey Ferenc High School, from which five teachers were forced to quit their jobs last September. Here, Bence Tóth related how he left public education after discovering that his colleagues had been sacked.

He insisted that the government was uninterested in finding a solution to problems afflicting public education, adding that Sándor Pintér, the minister of interior who is also responsible for education, had conceded that he did not understand the sector.

On the way to Oktogon, the marchers stopped in front of the Russian embassy building and tied ribbons in the national colours on the embassy fence.

Karácsony: ‘We won’t compromise on Hungary becoming a republic’

Addressing a demonstration on the anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 uprising in downtown Budapest on Monday, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, said: “We won’t compromise on our country one day becoming a republic, the common home of free and equal citizens.”

At the event held at Oktogon, Karácsony vowed to form an alliance of the opposition parties in Budapest for next year’s local elections.

“October 23 is the celebration of the republic, of the republic born out of the revolution of 1956, of the Third Hungarian Republic established on October 23, 1989, and of the Fourth Republic we carry in our hearts,” Karácsony said.

“Living in a republic means striving to treat each other well,” the mayor said, adding this was the kind of homeland the heroes of 1956 had wanted.

As we wrote before, the Tanítanék Movement was awarded EP’s European Citizens Prize, details HERE.

As we wrote today, Orbán: ‘Moscow a tragedy; Brussels bad contemporary parody’ – UPDATE

Investigations into five hundred million in support for Karácsony’s movement

Daily News Hungary Logo Új

Fidesz’s communications director has demanded answers concerning which foreign donors financed the organisation which backed Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony’s election campaign and what they sought in return.

“Gergely Karácsony and the dollar left have yet to absolve themselves of the money laundering scandal,” István Hollik of the ruling party said in a video statement on Monday.

Neither Karácsony nor DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány, he said, had given proper answers to the question of where the money came from in respect of the opposition 99 Movement.

Most of the 506 million forints in question, he added, had flowed in after Karácsony gave up his prime ministerial campaign and once the organisation had ceased its activities.

Hollik said that Karácsony had maintained that the money had been “put together” by Hungarian donors, yet one of the 99 Movement members, Erzsébet Pusztai, let slip in an interview that the movement had been supported by foreign donors in euros.

He said ordinary Hungarians were entitled to know where the funding came from and what was demanded in return.

As we wrote in June, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán could be investigated by court, details HERE.