Budapest Mayor Wants To Hold Referendum 'On Behalf Of Honest Majority', Say Socialists

  • 9 Aug 2021 11:07 AM
  • Hungary Matters
Budapest Mayor Wants To Hold Referendum 'On Behalf Of Honest Majority', Say Socialists
Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest who is also vying to become Hungary’s next prime minister, wants to hold a referendum “on behalf of the honest majority”, an opposition Socialist Party official, Imre Komjathi, said.

The party’s deputy chairman told an online press briefing that a “domineering minority” had held power in Hungary for the past 12 years, and that the Socialists were representatives of “the honest majority”.

He said Karácsony’s bid to hold a popular vote was all about seeking solutions to life’s real problems.

The referendum’s questions cover the issue of whether to prevent property from being transferred to China’s Fudan University and Hungary’s motorways from being sold off.

Also, it seeks to ask citizens whether Hungary should join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and whether all Hungarian residents over the age of 60 should be entitled to a coronavirus antibody test free of charge.

Further, the referendum asks whether jobless benefits should be extended to nine months from the current three.


MTI Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák

  • How does this content make you feel?

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

  • Updated: 'Budapest Will Not Kneel', Says Mayor to Gov't

    Updated: 'Budapest Will Not Kneel', Says Mayor to Gov't

    • 4 Dec 2025 12:00 PM

    At a "Budapest Pride March 2.0" rally outside the Carmelite Monastery, the prime minister's office, Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, vowed the city would "not kneel", as he handed the City Assembly's resolution on its "real financial crisis" to a government representative.

  • Budget Crisis Threatens Budapest’s Public Services, City Hall Rejects Insolvency Ultimatum

    Budget Crisis Threatens Budapest’s Public Services, City Hall Rejects Insolvency Ultimatum

    • 2 Dec 2025 6:15 AM

    The financial stability of Budapest is currently at the centre of a fierce political standoff between the City Assembly and the national government. The dispute intensified this week after Mayor Gergely Karácsony and the city administration rejected a government proposal to declare the capital insolvent, an act the government had framed as a prerequisite for offering financial aid.

  • 'Budapest Pride 2.0' on Monday at Clark Adam Square Called for by Mayor

    'Budapest Pride 2.0' on Monday at Clark Adam Square Called for by Mayor

    • 28 Nov 2025 8:34 AM

    Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony announced on Thursday that he had convened an extraordinary assembly for Monday to reaffirm the "true financial situation" of the municipality. The decision will later be delivered to the Prime Minister’s Office in Buda Castle during a demonstration, he told a press conference.