The spokesperson for the Government Communication Centre believes it is hypocritical that while opposition Members of Parliament refuse to grant the government a mandate for an effective containment effort, Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony will decide on issues concerning Budapest in local ordinances on his own.

In a comment posted on his Facebook account on Tuesday, Örs Farkas refers to an article published on the website of the newspaper Népszava on Friday.

The article says the meeting of the Metropolitan Assembly will be cancelled, and Mayor Gergely Karácsony will decide on a new date for the meeting subject to the status of the epidemic. According to the applicable government decree, in a state of danger, the leaders of settlements also have the authority to make decisions without the meetings of councillors; this so-called ‘rule by decree’ will take effect at the metropolitan municipality, the newspaper reported. The Metropolitan Mayor’s Office also stated that all party groups would receive and review by a fixed date proposals related to issues intended to be discussed by the General Assembly, and the Mayor of Budapest would make decisions in light of the positions of the party groups, the article reads.

In his post, Mr Farkas highlighted that on Monday opposition Members of Parliament “trembled with tears in their eyes, dreading the prospect of dictatorship” and did not consent to the extension of the state of danger within the shortest possible time, arguing that if they did so they would “lose control over decisions”. With this behaviour, the opposition is risking Hungary’s effective fight against the spread of the virus, he stated.

Meanwhile, however, Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony announced that meetings of the Metropolitan Assembly would be suspended indefinitely. At the same time, “there is nothing to worry about, he will decide on issues concerning Budapest by way of decrees on his own”. “How exactly will democracy work then, Esteemed Opposition?” the spokesperson asked.

(MTI)