Polgári Világ announced after its official registration in August that its first political action would be to initiate a national referendum on introducing the euro in Hungary. The party handed in the referendum question to the National Election Office for verification in mid-August:

“Do you agree that, in favor of Hungary’s joining the Eurozone, the National Assembly must oblige the government through legislative measures to officially request Hungary’s acceptance into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) system?”

According to a recent statement from the party, “our return to the European mainstream is of decisive significance. Today, a tool and a symbol of this is the introduction of the euro as soon as possible. This opinion is shared by several public thinkers who are lending their names to our initiative for introducing the euro.”

Among those public figures supporting Polgári Világ’s referendum initiative are:

• Péter Balázs, economist, diplomat. Was the first commissioner to be delegated to the European Commission in 2004. Served as Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from April 16, 2009 to May 29, 2010.

• Péter Ákos Bod, economist, politician, university professor, Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. MP from 1990-1991, President of Hungarian National Bank (MNB) until 1994. During the 2006 National Assembly elections, he was a possible Fidesz candidate for prime minister between the two election rounds.

• Géza Jeszenszky, historian, university professor, politician, diplomat. Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1990-1994 during the Antall government. During the Orbán governments, he was ambassador to Washington D.C. between 1998-2002, and to Norway and Iceland between 2011-2014.

• Tamás Kolosi, sociologist, doctor of social sciences, founder and president of Tárki social research institute. Internationally recognized authority on social stratification and social inequality. Adviser to Prime Minister Miklós Németh in 1989-1990, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from 1998-2002.

• Kálmán Mizsei, economist, deputy secretary general of the UN between 2001-2006. Later the EU’s special envoy to Moldova, and leader of the European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine between 2014-2015.

• György Surányi, economist, university professor. President of the MNB after the system change in 1990-1991, and again between 1995-2001. One-time adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Source: The Budapest Beacon

Republished with permission