He said that on this day 75 years ago, Greater Budapest had been created by merging Ujpest, Csepel, Kispest, Budafok, Pestszenterzsebet, Pestszentlorinc, Rakospalota, and 16 suburban settlements into one city.

He added that unification was the basis of Budapest's entire later history, with the merging of Obuda, Buda, Pest and later 23 additional settlements. "City unification is not a finished past but a continuous present," he said.

"The culture and style of political debate is at present at an all-time low, and it is Budapest's job to present an example that went against this," Karacsony said.

He added that new political players were part of the majority in the new municipal general assembly that was formed in 2024. "Many people thought, suggested and some even threatened that it will not work. But they were wrong. The city has a budget, we have made a large number of important decisions, and we have stood up for Budapest's self-governance," he said.

Karacsony cited problems and tasks linked to climate change, housing, air pollution, environmental pollution, and division built on populism.

"All of which gives us obligations because we must not leave it to our children to solve the issues that affect our planet, our environment and our cities during our lifetime", he said.

The mayor said that the agglomeration and areas located between the old city borders and the settlements that were incorporated into Budapest in 1950 represented a "gold reserve" for Budapest. He said these should be made use of and linked to the life of the city.

Karacsony said there was an opportunity to create new residential areas without increasing the congestion of the city. "Political will is needed, and the will to serve public interests as against private interests," he added.

The mayor said Budapest already understood this and it was now up to the government to follow suit. 

"This government or the next one. That Budapest's gold reserves must not be wasted, turned into a mini-Dubai, getting degraded into profits for private investors - we suspect who they are. We have been fighting with all our strength and will continue to do so in 2025 to go against policies that use up resources for the future and sell out the country, our home," Karacsony added.

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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