Mayor Karácsony’s warning: Budapest will not have a budget in force from next Tuesday, assembly lacked quorum today

Budapest Assembly lacked quorum
Photo: MTI

Mayor Gergely Karácsony on Wednesday postponed a meeting of the Budapest Assembly. The body lacked quorum as 20 of the 33 councillors failed to attend.

New Budapest Assembly convened for next Monday

Karácsony noted that the municipality would have no budget in force from next Tuesday. The assembly was scheduled to make decisions on the matters today, he said, adding that the meeting is planned to be held on Monday. “Today, Hungary sent a man into space … but politics in the capital has hit a new low,” Karácsony said. “The two largest groups in the assembly are not doing their job.”

The municipality had “picked up the gauntlet” against a government politics that was pushing City Hall to burden people living and working in Budapest with the weight of government austerity. “They are trying to force us to curb and ruin public services.” The municipality had decided in 2023 to “get Budapest’s money back through political, social and legal means,” he said.

Budapest Assembly lacked quorum
Photo: MTI

Recent negotiations with the government are a fruit of that approach, he said. “We see it as the result of a policy that said that we will not ruin the public services of the capital for political and short-term financial goals, and that we will protect the city’s autonomy with every means at our disposal,” he said.

Karácsony wants Budapest’s money back

Karácsony said the government had made the decision to “withdraw from austerity measures clearly at odds with the responsibility we all feel for the country’s capital.” “There is one more thing needed – that the party groups of the Budapest Assembly rise to the task and make the responsible decisions necessary in this tense situation, so that the negotiations with the government have actual results,” he said. “If we keep to the schedule, we can agree with the government on the ways in which we can get Budapest’s money back…”

Mayor Karácsony Budapest
Photo: MTI

Tisza slams Fidesz, Karácsony

The opposition Tisza party announced earlier on Wednesday that its councillors will stay away from the meeting.

“We’ve had enough of the Fidesz group, led by Alexandra Szentkirályi … hobbling every assembly with ideologically loaded pseudo-proposals and amendments that have nothing to do with Budapest citizens’ lives. Enough of the fact that it is impossible to have meaningful conversations on Budapest public transport, cultural life or green areas … because Szentkirályi has turned the most important decision-making body of Budapest into a cesspool of petty, sordid political games…” the statement said.

Tisza also slammed Mayor Gergely Karácsony for “assisting to Fidesz’s theatre”. They said Karácsony had been hindering the transparent selection of the heads of municipality-owned companies for months, “and doesn’t implement the decision of councillors, thereby keeping the party soldiers of the alt-opposition in position.” The mayor had also refused to re-negotiate the 2025 budget, in line with the Assembly’s decision in December and in view of the situation, the party said.

“Our refusal to attend the Budapest Assembly on June 25th is a last signal to Fidesz party soldiers and the mayor. Should the Budapest elections be held today, Tisza would give the mayor and the majority of the assembly,” the party said.

Party interests vs citizens’ interests, says DK

Tibor Déri, a councillor of the Democratic Coalition (DK), told an extraordinary press conference after the postponement that Fidesz and Tisza had shown that they prioritised their parties rather than the interests of Budapest citizens, “and that they want to join forces to push Budapest into the abyss.”

Dorottya Keszthelyi said that in the 9 months since the new assembly started working, “we are facing the fact every day that right-wing groups do not take part in the work, they don’t delegate members to company boards. This is outrageous … we will continue to work to keep Budapest operational.”

Dávid Vitézy of the Podmaniczky movement called for “real city development rather than party political battleground” on Facebook.

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