Együtt

Egyutt files criminal complaint over suspected Szell Kalman Square graft

Budapest (MTI) – Opposition party Egyutt has filed a criminal complaint in connection with the revamp of Szell Kalman Square.

The Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) “misappropriated the money of Budapest citizens” when it amended the contract in June to push back construction deadlines, thereby foregoing almost 600 million forints (EUR 1.85m) of late-delivery penalties, Egyutt lawmaker Marton Pataki told a press conference on Thursday. By the time this amendment took place, it was already clear that the project would not meet the original deadlines, he added.

According to the original contract signed in November, the third phase of the construction should have been completed by Thursday, but the work has been significantly delayed. The contractor should have paid 8 million forints (EUR 24,600) in penalties each day, Pataki noted.

Since public money is involved, this is a case of misappropriation, he added.

BKK in a statement dismissed the accusation that it had foregone the 600 million late-delivery penalty, saying that on November 24, 2014, it had signed a contract with the winner of the tender, and due to a delay in the public procurement procedure, the project started seven months late, causing some changes in seasonally adjusted performances and seasonal deliveries of technologies. The contractor had to adjust to work carried out over two winters and one summer instead of two summers and one winter. Accordingly the original deadline was changed, the statement said.

Photo: MTI

Opposition criticises PM over Baile Tusnad speech

Budapest, July 25 (MTI) – Opposition parties criticised Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his remarks at the 26th annual Balvanyos Summer University in Baile Tusnad (Tusnadfurdo), in Szeklerland, central Romania, on Saturday.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party said that the prime minister should initiate amending the EU’s founding treaty or Hungary’s treaty of accession.

Jobbik said that if Orban “is truly worried for national self-determination in Europe”, he should reinstate the Border Guard and ensure that economic migrants arriving in Hungary can be turned back.

Deputy group leader Daniel Karpat Z said the Orban government was “all talk and no action”. He said it was clear that the prime minister would not follow up on his Baile Tusnad speech, and instead will be just as “appeasing” as “the parties of the 20th century” when it comes to the issue of migration.

The Egyutt party said the prime minister made “bewildering” remarks on the closing day of the event. Nora Hajdu, the party’s senior official, said in a statement that Orban “said some really horrible things alongside a lot of empty words”. Hajdu said the prime minister’s remark on left-wing politicians “not liking” Hungarians was “gruesome”. She said the prime minister “has once again proven” that cooperation with him is impossible, as he “does not consider those who disagree with him part of the nation”. “Orban is not a European intellectual, he does not represent European values and is heading east,” Hajdu said.

The Hungarian Liberal Party (MLP) accused Orban of having fomented xenophobia, looked for enemies and spread alarm – well-known endeavours for all who are familiar with Hungary’s inter-war history. “This year the prime minister found his enemies in Brussels, the left wing and starving Africans,” the party said.

Photo: MTI

Hungarian politicians pay tribute to 1956 martyr Imre Nagy

Budapest, June 16 (MTI) – After 57 years, the example set by Hungary’s martyred prime minister Imre Nagy “still demands our respect”, parliament’s deputy speaker Gergely Gulyas, of the ruling Fidesz, said on Tuesday.

The hanging and dishonourable burial of Nagy and other martyrs, as well as the mass revenge that followed Hungary’s failed 1956 uprising against Soviet rule, made it clear that the practice of power pursued by communists was incompatible with European civilisation and all the values that made Hungary belong to a Christian state and the western world for a thousand years, he said.

The memorial service held in central Budapest’s Martyrs’ Square was also attended by Chief of General Staff Tibor Benko and representatives of several state and civil organisations.

Imre Lezsak, another deputy speaker, told a memorial event in parliament on Tuesday that Hungarians always joined forces in great moments of history, such as in 1956 and in 1989.

Opposition Egyutt party leader Viktor Szigetvari told the event Martyrs’ Square that Nagy chose the West in 1956 because he recognised that Hungary had no future in the East.

“It is a shame that an opposition party in Hungary in 2015 needs to point this out as a relevant issue,” he added.

The opposition Liberals said in a statement that Hungarians should fight against all efforts that aim to shrivel democracy.

June 16 marks the day when Nagy was executed in 1958. A ceremonial reburial held in Heroes’ Square in 1989 has become a symbolic event marking the end of Communist rule in Hungary.

The Socialist Party said that the most important message of June 16 is that no one can break the thirst for freedom of the Hungarian people. The party said in a statement that “on this day we both mourn and celebrate”.

“We mourn our martyred heroes and we celebrate that historic opportunity which we fought for together 26 years ago,” the statement said, adding that the events of June 16, 1989 showed that Nagy and his associates had not died in vain.

Photo: MTI

Egyutt calls on Olympic cttee to release feasibility study for hosting 2024 games

Budapest, June 14 (MTI) – The opposition Egyutt party has called on the Hungarian Olympic Committee to release the feasibility study pertaining to a possible bid by Budapest for hosting the 2024 Olympics.

Earlier this week, the general assembly of the Hungarian Olympic Committee approved the submission of a declaration of intent to host the 2024 Olympic Games in Budapest, and asked for the support of Budapest’s municipal council, urging the assembly to authorise Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos to officially submit a bid together with the Olympic committee.

Egyutt lawmaker Marton Pataki noted that the Olympic committee said it based its decision a 1,300 page feasibility study into hosting the summer games, put together by PricewaterhouseCoopers and its partners. This study, the party says, is restricted. Egyutt said it would have liked to see the study, as it said certain revenues and expenses listed in the study “seem over or understated”.

The party said it has not yet received a response to their official request to view the study.

The Hungarian Olympic Committee said it was briefed on the feasibility study before it approved the submission of the declaration of intent.

A report on the feasibility study presented to the committee said “hosting the Olympics in Budapest is a feasible and worthwhile undertaking”, adding that the Hungarian bid is a viable contender for the 2024 games.

Opposition calls on minister to reveal security details of billboard campaign

Budapest, June 9 (MTI) – The opposition Egyutt party has called on the interior minister to reveal the details of security measures if any had been taken in connection with the government’s billboard campaign on migration.

The billboards have triggered widespread criticism and activists defaced many of them in an “expression of political opinion,” Levente Papa, the party’s deputy leader, told a press conference on Tuesday. Papa said it was “outrageous” that “old political policing methods” were used when three police teams were ordered to guard the billboards overnight at the weekend. He said the 24-hour guarding of the billboards was unnecessary and kept police from doing their job.

Zoltan Balog, the Minister for Human Resources, denied in parliament on Monday that police security has been ordered for the billboards.

Police arrested six people on Sunday in connection with defacing billboards put up under the government’s “national consultation” campaign on immigration. Egyutt said it was organising a movement to tear down the billboards and some of the party’s activists were involved, including leader Viktor Szigetvari. Several activists reported themselves to police voluntarily after defacing billboards in the city and Egyutt said it would “stand by its activists.”

The opposition Socialists called it “revolting” that Hungarian police were watching the government’s “xenophobic billboards” instead of protecting tax-paying citizens.

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has said in a statement it would turn to the chief prosecutor over the billboards, whose legality should be questioned.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party said the billboard issue was “overblown” on both sides, with the government ordering police to guard the postings and the left encouraging their defacement.

The ruling Fidesz party said Szigetvari should stop encouraging “vandalism” and “inducing people to aggressive and unlawful actions”.

Photo: MTI

Police launch procedures against natl consultation billboard vandals

Budapest (MTI) – The national police have launched procedures against six people for vandalising billboards tied to the national consultation on the subject of immigration, the police headquarters said on police.hu.

According to information obtained by the police, the six people vandalised a billboard in City Park around midnight on Saturday.

Opposition party Egyutt on Tuesday said it was organising a movement to tear down the billboards attached to the national consultation. On Sunday, chairman Viktor Szigetvari said the party would stand by its activists and offer them every available legal and political support.

Szilard Nemeth, an MP of Fidesz, said that the governing party had reported the vandalism and called on Szigetvari to stop “inciting people to such aggressive and unlawful action”.

In a statement issued later on Sunday, the opposition Socialists said it was “revolting” that Hungarian police were watching the government’s “xenophobic billboards” instead of protecting tax-paying citizens.

Opposition DK said in a statement that they would turn to Hungary’s chief prosecutor on the matter of the billboards. Painting over or tearing down the billboards is not the issue that should be scrutinised, rather the legality of erecting billboards that “serve to incite fear and hatred”, the party added.

Gergely Farkas, a lawmaker for radical nationalist Jobbik, said the matter had been overblown as the government “delegated police” to observe the billboards while the political left had encouraged their defacement. The government is using the billboards “to manipulate public opinion, as propaganda”, he said.

Photo: MTI

Top court axes land asset law amendment on national parks

Budapest, June 1 (MTI) – Hungary’s top court ruled on Monday that the recent amendment to the land asset law concerning national parks is unconstitutional.

At the same time the part of the law enabling the termination of lease contracts and lease rights for certain land belonging to the National Land Fund is not unconstitutional, the body ruled.

Parliament approved with a simple majority at the end of April the law under which the land rights of national parks were put into the ownership of the National Land Fund and leasehold rights were terminated.

President Janos Ader refused to sign the law and turned to the top court for an opinion.

The court said that changing the approval conditions of the law from a supermajority to a simple one had been unconstitutional. It also ruled against the principle that the land fund would prioritise the economic aspects of managing the land as opposed to ensuring they remain protected nature reserves.

The opposition Egyutt party called on the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition to “forget about re-regulating the amended passages on national parks”. Egyutt said Fidesz should accept the top court’s ruling and refrain from amending the constitution or using other “legal tricks” to push the bill through.

Green party LMP said it welcomed the top court ruling as it believed that the amendment approved by the ruling parties had “fundamentally endangered” the goals of protecting the country’s natural habitats. Benedek R. Sallai, a party lawmaker, said it was “reassuring” that the Constitutional Court had taken its responsibilities of looking after the environment seriously, especially considering that the desire by certain interest groups to take hold of natural resources had grown in the recent past.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party also welcomed the decision, which they interpreted as a sign that “the Fidesz law failed and the positions of the people, professionals, civil and green groups and Jobbik have triumphed.”

Socialist lawmaker Gabor Harangozo, who is also a deputy chairman of parliament’s agricultural committee, said the attempt of Fidesz to degrade Hungary’s green areas into “payout” places in hopes of tapping on land-based subsidies had failed. “Common sense has triumphed,” he told a press conference, adding that Orban’s “horrific” plan had been “too much” even for the top court, where Fidesz-delegates are in a majority.

The opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) also welcomed the decision and the declaration by the top court that the legal levels of protection for the environment cannot be narrowed.

Rebeka Szabo, a senior PM official, said the National Land Management Fund is unfit to take environmental considerations into account and she called it shocking that the amendment had gone past the entire public administration system before it was stopped by the top court.

Three environmentalist groups said they welcomed the court ruling which “gave new hope” for environmentalists in Hungary. They said in a joint statement that they expect the government to respect the court’s decision and abandon plans to weaken the positions of the national park directorates.

Istvan Nagy, state secretary at the farm ministry, said the government had wanted to create a clear environment for land leasing, taking all relevant decisions into one central hand: that of the National Land Management Fund (NFA). This way decisions would be made based on a single rule and not “in ten different places”.

“Naturally we will respect the top court’s decision and examine its recommendations,” Nagy said. The government will put forward its proposal for a new amendment based on these recommendations, he added.

Jobbik and Egyutt critical of Orban’s remarks on refugee issue

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, May 18 (MTI) – The opposition Egyutt party and the radical nationalist Jobbik have criticised the prime minister over his most recent comments on Europe’s refugee issue.

Jobbik lawmaker Gergely Kulcsar said on Monday that Viktor Orban’s remarks on the refugee issue “lacked credibility”.

He said the ruling Fidesz party’s actions over its five years in power had not matched Orban’s latest statements. The government has not even attempted to reinstate the Border Guard dissolved by the Socialist government, nor has it attempted to close the refugee reception centre in Debrecen, he said.

Kulcsar noted that Jobbik has been calling for the removal of the refugee reception centre for years, and that it has spoken out against the free movement of the city’s refugees on numerous occasions.

Kulcsar called on the government to deal with the refugee issue in accordance with Orban’s latest comments and implement Jobbik’s proposals.

Egyutt said in a statement that Orban continues to make xenophobic comments for short-term political gain to win back voters he has lost to Jobbik.

The party said Orban is trying to convince voters that immigrants, multinational companies or his political opponents are responsible for Hungary’s problems. This, however, is a lie, as Hungary’s problems are mainly caused by “Fidesz-affiliated potentates and oligarchs stealing anything that moves,” they said.

Earlier on Monday Orban touched on Europe’s refugee issue at a press conference in Debrecen, where he signed a cooperation agreement with the city’s mayor. The prime minister said Hungary has “serious fights” with the EU over the issue.

“Brussels wants that all who arrive in Hungary should stay, and that even more refugees should come. We want no more refugees to come and those who are staying here should go home,” he insisted.

The prime minister argued that “you cannot violate a country’s law on arrival”, through illegally crossing the border, which is a crime. He called it “unacceptable” that “the EU forces on Hungary rules under which it is not a crime.”

Political parties mark International Workers’ Day

Budapest (MTI) – Marking International Workers’ Day on Friday, the ruling Fidesz party said that its government has consistently represented hard-working people since 2010. The opposition parties, in turn, complained about low wages and corruption.

Fidesz said in a statement that the introduction of the flat-tax rate, the reduced personal income tax and the re-introduction of family allowances have decreased Hungarians’ tax burden by a total of 3,600 billion forints. The government has supported job-creating investment projects, launched a job-protection scheme and made public work schemes available to those who fail to find other employment. The minimum wage has been raised, the purchasing power of pensions has grown and banks are being held responsible for unfair lending conditions they used to offer.

The party said the personal income tax will further drop next year, families with two children will get more help by way of tax allowances and the VAT on unprocessed pork, along with certain public utility fees, will be reduced.

Opposition Socialist leader Jozsef Tobias told a meeting in the City Park that Hungary is in trouble because extremist ideologies have been allowed to gain popularity on the right and are combined with corruption in “the Fidesz-Jobbik world”.

After meeting trade union leaders, Tobias said the new labour code has made it impossible to protect workers’ interests. The Socialist leader called for a 50 percent rise in the minimum wage. He added that the trade unions were in agreement with the Socialists that Sunday work should be allowed in Hungary but a 200 percent premium should be paid.

Budapest leader of the Socialists Agnes Kunhalmi accused Fidesz of pursuing hundred-year-old politics and building neo-feudalism. which ruin people’s trust in making progress by means of hard and honourable work.

Ferenc Gyurcsany, leader of the opposition Democratic Coalition, said that “six million forgotten Hungarians” who have been let down during the past 25 years of post-communist transformation must be given justice. Addressing a party event, also in the City Park, Gyurcsany said that the current government is based on theft and deception, with relatives, friends and insiders growing rich while the majority gets worn-out. The cabinet is mobilising the worst instincts in people, encouraging them to close the borders from migrants, while the country is suffocating from corruption, Gyurcsany added.

The green opposition LMP called for guaranteeing the subsistence level even to those who earn the bare minimum. Co-leader Andras Schiffer told a party event that LMP had prepared a seven-point proposal to fight poverty among workers. Wages must be raised in the public sector, tax burdens on families with children and on newly launched small companies must be reduced, the VAT of locally produced food cut and the public works scheme changed. He noted that more than half of Hungarian tax-payers earn less than 87,000 forints net per month. LMP calls for the reintroduction of a progressive tax system and a 24 percent increase in average wages, he said.

Spokesman of the opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party Bence Tordai told a party event that a subsistence wage should be introduced. He said that PM supports trade union demands that the minimum wage in Hungary should not be below the subsistence level.

The opposition Egyutt said Hungarian families are worse-off today than they were before the start of the global economic crisis in 2008, paying more taxes and many being without jobs. Party leader Viktor Szigetvari called for scrapping the flat-tax rate and the public works scheme and demanded fair cooperation between markets and the state to create new jobs and help those who fall behind.

Head of the non-parliamentary Hungarian Workers Party Gyula Thurmer called for introducing a one-off 40 percent tax on Hungary’s super rich, a minimum wage of at least 200,000 forints, the restoration of real strike rights and work-free Sundays.

The alliance of Hungarian trade unions MASSZ said Hungarians have become the most vulnerable workers in the European Union since the last pillars of workers’ rights have been ruined by the new labour code which Laszlo Kordas, the leader of the organisation, described as “slave code”. He told a demonstration in the City Park that the new labour code is unconstitutional and ignores international laws.

Photo: MTI

Együtt accuses Matolcsy of lying on asset declaration, demands probe

Budapest, April 22 (MTI) – The opposition Egyutt party has accused central bank governor György Matolcsy of lying on his asset declaration and has demanded an investigation.

Deputy head of Egyutt Levente Papa said in a statement on Wednesday that his party will initiate an investigation into Matolcsy’s growth of wealth and call on him to resign. According to allegations, the central bank has set up its foundations for the purpose of allowing its top officials to circumvent a salary ceiling.

The statement cited a report by weekly Magyar Narancs alleging that Matolcsy failed to include monthly income of 1.2 million forints from two foundations in his asset declaration form on the pretext that he offered it to charity. However, Matolcsy’s explanation contradicts relevant legal regulations that require all taxable income to be stated regardless of what it is spent on, Papa added.

The party also wants the bank’s supervisory board — which ceased functioning last May due to the expiry of its members’ mandates — to be re-established.

Photo: MTI

INVESTIGATION ON BUDAPEST REAL ESTATE SCANDAL

Budapest District V assemblyman Péter Juhász (Együtt) has announced, on his Facebook account, that the Prosecutor-General’s Office’s has launched an investigation on the matter of the District V real estate scandal.

Péter Juhász has passed the Prosecutor-General’s Office’s letter to index.hu. The letter mentions that although the complaint Juhász had lodged was rejected, the investigation is now ordered. The investigation has been entrusted to the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation, and it is expired on 30 June.

Earlier, Péter Juhász accused the politicians concerned, including the former District V mayor Antal Rogán, of participating in a criminal organisation, and illegally selling public properties at substantially below fair market prices carried out on a commercial scale. He also claimed that the system had been built by ““well-trained people”” in order to ““give the appearance of legality””, but which, in fact, violated numerous laws and district ordinances.

As is it is laid down in the allegation, the asset management of the local government was not predictable. They do not even comply with their own municipal regulations, and the size of the loss of assets oversteps the line of negligence, indolence, and incompetence, and it constitutes a deliberate criminal offence.

According to Juhász, the examination of the suspected documents reveals a huge series of fraudulent transactions, causing major financial damages to the district.

Based on the article index.hu
Translated by Gábor Hajnal

Photo: MTI

Opposition blames PM for Quaestor troubles

Budapest (MTI) – Opposition parties on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban to resign and claim some of the responsibility for troubles at the Quaestor brokerage firm.

Related article:
Szijjarto is up to his neck in Questor case

Orban said at a press conference in Sopron, northwest Hungary, that it was on his instruction that government ministries had withdrawn funds from Quaestor prior to its bankruptcy. He said he had ordered that the money should be taken out after learning about the scandal at the brokerage Buda-Cash at suggestions that it could start a domino effect at other independent Hungarian brokerages.

The prime minister responded to reports which considered it odd that the ministry had withdrawn the money before Quaestor’s bankruptcy.

Quaestor, too, earlier blamed the Buda-Cash scandal for a run by panicked investors trying to cash in their Quaestor bonds.

The foreign ministry on Tuesday denied allegations of insider dealing in connection with the withdrawal of funds. It said it had an investment account at Quaestor which contained non-traded (golden) shares intended to be used for raising capital at Eximbank and they were issued legally. It added that the ministry-affiliated Hungarian National Trading House (MNKH), like many other entities and individuals, withdrew its funds from Quaestor in response to market events.

The Socialist opposition called on Orban to resign for “leaving Hungarian people in the lurch” as his remarks were an “admission” that the ministries had acted on his command. Zoltan Lukacs, the party’s deputy leader, told a press conference that the foreign ministry had lied about the case, insisting “still a few hours ago” that the withdrawal was on advice from ministry analysts. In view of this, foreign minister Peter Szijjarto should also resign, he said. He added that the Socialists repeat their earlier demand for the ministry or Orban to give access to ministry assessments prepared on bankruptcies at the brokerages.

Opposition LMP said suspicions of insider dealing in this case were valid, as ministries could gain this kind of information through their connections. Laszlo Heltai, the party’s economic spokesman, said he would urge investigators to look into such connections, for instance that between Szijjarto and Quaestor chief Csaba Tarsoly. He agreed there was discrepancy between the ministry’s statement that the decision to withdraw funds from Quaestor was made in response to market events while Orban claimed it was on his instruction. “The foreign ministry had withdrawn 20 billion forints and this could have played a role in the collapse of the brokerage,” Heltai said, adding that it was also “odd” that the government claims Fidesz had had information about bad finances at Quaestor while they told the public “everything was all right”. He said questions remained as to the kind of transactions that had taken place as well as what a brokerage was doing handling public funds instead of the State Treasury.

Liberal leader Gabor Fodor said he would turn to Orban in a written question over his role in withdrawing the money as well as the ministry depositing it to Quaestor in the first place.

The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) said Orban should not evade responsibility over the Quaestor affair and that he must be held to account, even against his personal assets. Zsolt Greczy, the party’s spokesman, said while the investments of “simple people” had gone astray the government had “snuck out” its billions.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party said it would file a complaint over suspicions of insider dealing and demanded a list of individuals and companies which had withdrawn money from Quaestor before it collapsed. Janos Volner, the deputy leader of the party’s parliamentary group, said he would call a meeting of parliament’s business development committee and have Szijjarto answer questions on the scandal.

Timea Szabo, lawmaker for opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM), said Orban’s remarks were unacceptable and PM would also file a report for insider dealing. The prime minister has “cheated, lied and misled voters,” she said, adding that her party would seek legal steps based on records of the meeting where Orban had given instructions for the withdrawal of funds, which she would try to procure.

The opposition Egyutt called for an investigation to reveal “how the government had handled public funds” and insisted that Orban is “personally responsible”.

Photo: MTI

Left-wing opposition parties slam visit

Daily News Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary’s centrist and left-of-centre opposition parties on Tuesday reacted to Vladimir Putin’s visit to Budapest, savaging Hungary’s prime minister for hosting the Russian president.

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Putin in Budapest – Orban: EU-Russia relations must be settled as quickly as possible

The Socialists said that Prime Minister Viktor Orban had betrayed the interests of the Hungarian nation. Bertalan Toth, the party’s deputy group leader, told a news conference that the Russian president was using Hungary as a “live prop” to demonstrate that an EU and NATO country accepted him with friendship. He also insisted that Putin had used the meeting to sell gas untapped under the soon-to-expire contract more expensively than world market prices justified. He demanded that every aspect of the two leaders’ two-hour talks should be brought into the open.

Opposition Egyutt said it considered Putin’s visit inexcusable and a cause for concern since it provided Putin with a platform “to parade” in the EU. Zsuzsanna Szelenyi, who sits in parliament as an independent, insisted that Hungary would not benefit from the visit. The EU is keeping Russia in political quarantine because of its involvement in armed aggression in Ukraine, yet Orban has helped Russia crack out of its isolation. For this, Orban bears a huge responsibility, she added.

The opposition Dialogue for Hungary party said Orban was transforming Hungary into an outpost of Russia. Benedek Javor, a party MEP, told a press conference that the agreements announced after the Orban-Putin talks were normally signed by state secretaries, so the question remains: “what was Putin actually doing in Hungary?”

The opposition LMP party said Orban had driven Hungary to the path of complete dependence on Russia. The party’s co-leader Bernadett Szél said Hungary’s reliance on Russian gas had further increased despite already being the most heavily dependent among the Visegrad Group countries.

The Democratic Coalition said that Orban had betrayed Europe, the community of Europe and Hungary. Peter Niedermuller, the party’s deputy leader, told a news conference that the Hungarian government had “cowardly blurred the fact” that in the Russia-Ukraine conflict Russia was the aggressor.

Szigetvari elected Egyutt leader

Budapest, February 14 (MTI) – Delegates on Saturday elected Viktor Szigetvari as the new leader of the opposition Egyutt (Together) party. So far the party was led by two co-leaders.

Szigetvari received more than 68 percent of the votes. His mandate is for two years.

The party’s new deputy leaders are Levente Papa and Peter Juhasz.

Szigetvari said after his election that he is a team player and Egyutt will continue to operate as a community, as “a single man cannot remedy the problems of the Hungarian opposition.”

He said Egyutt wants to become the defining force of an opposition renewal in Hungary and in one year the party would like to be known as the grouping that “fought hardest against corruption and organised theft.”

Juhasz said he was working on a nation-wide anti-corruption movement which would leave no doubt in 2018 on how to replace the Orban government.

Photo: MTI

Egyutt proposes parliamentary day of debate on residency bonds

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, February 4 (MTI) – The opposition Egyutt party is proposing a parliamentary day of debate to clarify issues concerning the sale of residency bonds.

Zsuzsanna Szelenyi, who sits in parliament as an independent, said there is no need for residency bonds because they increase Hungary’s forex debt. The bonds are also available from offshore companies, which is against the constitution, and it is not known who acquires residence in Hungary.

Foreign nationals buying 300,000 euros worth of government bonds can obtain a residence permit that can be extended for five years.

She said it was unclear what parliament’s economic committee had to do with this “confusing issue”.

In a “normal case” the bond issue would be managed by the Hungarian state and the economy ministry would be responsible for it, she said.

Szelenyi said she would first contact the ruling party’s group leader and the head of the economic committee with a request for support for the day of debate

Radical nationalist party Jobbik also called for the residency bonds to be scrapped in their current form. Daniel Karpat, the party’s deputy group leader, told a news conference that it was unacceptable for unknown persons and business players to be allowed into the country as a forced means to boost budget revenues. He condemned that a large amount of the profit was being skimmed into companies with “a suspected offshore background”.

Fidesz parliamentary group leader Antal Rogan recently said the residency bond scheme was not an immigration issue but an opportunity for foreign exchange financing. The state pays interest on these bonds after five years and the yield is 150 basis points lower than the base rate, he added. On 500 million euros worth of residency bonds purchased so far, the Hungarian state has an interest advantage, which represents nearly 20 billion forints of profit, he said.

Buyers of residency bonds must fulfil the same requirements to become citizens as anybody else, Rogan said. Once they buy 300,000 euros worth of Hungarian government bonds, they get a short-term licence which can be extended for five years of residence. No citizenship is granted unless the person lives in Hungary for eight years, he added.

Since this scheme is designed to attract investors, any changes in the government’s immigration policy would be independent from the residency bonds scheme, Rogan said.

Egyutt wants parliament to amend election laws this year

Budapest, January 29 (MTI) – The opposition Egyutt (Together) party wants parliament to first debate and then amend Hungary’s election laws this year, the party’s co-leader told a press conference on Thursday.

Viktor Szigetvari said the proposal would be submitted in writing to Prime Minister Viktor Orban and ruling Fidesz group leader Antal Rogan.

Szigetvari cited a Freedom House annual report on democracy published on Wednesday which downgraded Hungary because of its election system. The report said that Hungary’s political rights rating declined from 1, the best rank, to 2 “due to an election campaign that demonstrated the diminished space for fair competition given legislative and other advantages accrued by the ruling party.” It cited Prime Minister Viktor Orban as saying that a democracy should not necessarily be of liberal nature.

Szigetvari said that the election laws could be amended in autumn, following professional consultations.

Egyutt’s co-leader also referred to a National Election Committee report indicating problems with the system of recommendations and “some other conditions”. He also cited an OSCE report as saying that conditions were not equal for the parties during the 2014 elections.

Asked about the chance of early elections, the opposition is not yet prepared for taking over government but in 2018 it will be fit for the task, he said.

Egyutt prepares for making Prime Minister Viktor Orban defeatable in a fair and free election in 2018, Szigetvari said.

Opposition parties congratulate Syriza on election win

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, January 26 (MTI) – The opposition parties LMP, Egyutt and PM on Monday congratulated Greece’s Syriza party on its victory in the parliamentary elections.

LMP co-leaders Andras Schiffer and Bernadett Szel said the victory demonstrated that only parties critical of the system can successfully fight for real national sovereignty, “unlike governments entrapped in neo-liberal economic policies”.

Egyutt board member Nora Hajdu said that an important message for Hungary could later emerge if lasting success is built on economic policies deriving from sustainable growth rather than populist rhetoric, which merely slams austerity.

PM said Syriza’s success demonstrated that there is hope to escape from policies of insensitive austerity.

Radical nationalist Jobbik welcomed the victory of Euro-sceptic forces. Deputy group leader Marton Gyongyosi said that their “convincing” win should be “a warning sign to Europe’s elite, degrading poorer members into colonies, as well as to the corrupt political forces serving them”. The failure of Greek parties which “drove their country to an ever-deepening crisis through promoting neo-liberal economic policies” has shown that “the interests of financiers can no longer be placed before the interests of the people,” he said.

Opposition slams Orban for anti-immigration remarks

Daily News Hungary

Budapest, January 12 (MTI) – The opposition Dialogue for Hungary (PM) condemns Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent remarks on immigration and asks the premier to withdraw his statements, Timea Szabo, the party’s co-leader, said on Monday.

On Sunday, after attending a mass rally in Paris, Orban called for a firm EU response to the terrorist murders in France, and added that “immigration must be stopped”. People claiming political asylum should be exempted, he told public television M1.

“It must be made clear that we will not allow, at least as long as I am the prime minister … Hungary to become the target of immigrants,” he said. “We do not want a significant minority with different cultural characteristics and backgrounds living among us; we would like Hungary to stay as Hungary is,” he added.

Szabo asked Orban to stop “rubbing shoulders with the radical right” and riding against the will of the Hungarian people who, she said, want the country to be a part of Europe not only economically but culturally, too.

Szabo said Orban’s remarks were “proof that he takes policies of the radical right as a model” and wants to make Hungary an isolated country shunned by European states. She added that in any case Hungary has never been an attractive target for immigration due to a complete lack of a comprehensive integration policy.

Orban’s remarks also mean that he believes the hundreds and thousands of Hungarians working abroad have no place in European countries.

“The prime minister doesn’t consider the work of Hungarians legitimate, although these people have been forced to find work abroad thanks to Fidesz’s impoverishing economic policy,” she insisted.

Szabo said PM is of the opinion that a colourful community with a multitude of cultural traits and backgrounds would strengthen and advance Hungary.

The leftist Democratic Coalition party (DK) said that the prime minister had started to represent the “chronic populist policies of the extremist Jobbik party”. Agnes Vadai, a DK lawmaker who sits in parliament as an independent, said in a statement that Orban spoke in Paris as if he were a prime minister of a country that must tackle the dangers of immigration. Yet ever since he assumed power people have been leaving the country at an ever faster rate, she said.

The opposition Egyutt (Together) party said Orban was betraying the European values he himself espoused 25 years ago and is increasing Hungary’s international isolation further by making “xenophobic comments”. Nora Hajdu, a senior official of the party, told a press conference that the problem Hungary is facing is not high immigration but a large number of Hungarians leaving the country because of the policies of the Orban government.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party, on the other hand, said that the issue of immigration and refugees is “putting an awkward strain on Europe”. Daniel Z Karpat told a press conference that Jobbik believes Europe should put up a “house full” sign. In the case of Hungary no attempt to increase immigration should even be considered, Z Karpat said. He added that the number of asylum-seekers arriving in Hungary has increased eight-fold over the past one to two years. He said while the government had recently almost acted like a Jobbik supporter when rejecting all forms of immigration, it is scouting places for sites of new refugee camps from local councils free of charge. Jobbik demands that the government reviews the risks before creating any more refugee camps near inhabited areas, he added.