Karácsony: Local Governance under Threat in Hungary
Local governance and the relationship between the central government and local councils constitutes the “frontline of Hungarian domestic politics” today, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony told an online conference on Thursday.
Local governance is important to all democrats, the mayor said, adding, however that it was now under threat in Hungary.
“Democracy is being systematically wound up,” Karácsony said, adding that the Hungarian government was “not governing, but ruling” the country.
The opposition’s responsibility is to offer an alternative to this in the local councils it controls, he added.
Péter Márki-Zay, the mayor of Hódmezővásárhely, in southern Hungary, said the opposition-controlled local councils “find themselves facing a mafia” in the form of the government, “which only cares about power and stealing”.
The coordination council of employers, employees and municipal representatives (Főét) has suggested that Budapest should be compensated by the gov't for lost business tax revenues so that "it can perform its public tasks at a high level", Mayor Gergely Karácsony said.
Hungarian Parties Start Campaigning for Coronavirus Vaccine
As many people in Hungary do not want to get vaccinated either because they are afraid of the side effects of the vaccine, or because they have doubts over its effectiveness, many scientists, public figures, and leading politicians have started campaigning to convince skeptics that the vaccines are safe and encourage everyone to get inoculated. We took a look at what the Hungarian parties’ main messages are regarding vaccination.
Unsurprisingly, government politicians are regularly campaigning on social media and other forums to persuade people of the importance of vaccination.
Last week, the pre-registration for the coronavirus vaccine began on a new official government website. However, in recent days, neither the government nor the operative board has been clear on what exactly it means to register at vakcinainfo.gov.hu and whether those who apply will be able to choose from the available vaccines. At the same […]C
Coronavirus: Local Councils Offer Govt Cooperation in Vaccination Efforts
Organizations of local councils have offered their help to the Hungarian government in developing and implementing an inoculation plan against the coronavirus, in a letter sent to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán by the Budapest municipality on Thursday.
The letter was signed by Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, György Gémesi, the mayor of the city of Gödöllő near Budapest, and László Kiss, the mayor of Budapest’s third district as the heads of the alliances of Budapest and national municipalities.
The signatories said that developing and distributing the vaccine was a foremost priority.
PMO Head: Hungary Health Care Proved World-Class in Pandemic
Hungarian health-care workers deserve praise for providing the best possible care during the coronavirus pandemic, the prime minister’s chief of staff said on Thursday. The health-care system deployed enough doctors, nurses and equipment at all times, he said.
In an interview to commercial broadcaster atv, Gergely Gulyás slammed the opposition for putting all their efforts into “smear campaigns against the government and the health-care system, and into producing fake videos lambasting nurses.”
The pandemic-related mortality rate puts Hungarian health care on par with French, Swedish and Croatian services, Gulyás said. That achievement is in itself ample justification for the “enormous and unprecedented” wage rise for doctors, which will come into effect on Friday, with a law outlawing gratuity payments, he said. The same goes for the 72 percent wage rise for nurses due during the next cycle, he said.