"Together we must send a message to the government: we demand back our money that was taken illegally and an end to the anti-Budapest policy," he said on Monday in a post on social media, referring to the central government's so-called solidarity contribution. "Those who bankrupt Budapest will drag Budapest down with them," he added.

"Budapest wants to live, not only to survive," the mayor declared.

Responding to the mayor's announcement, Alexandra Szentkiralyi, the leader of the Fidesz-Christian Democrat group in the city assembly, said on Facebook that instead of taking responsibility Karacsony and his people were "punishing Budapest residents" by paralysing transport on Friday, when services will be paused for 10 minutes.

She said thereafter strikes may last for hours and even for a whole week, "causing huge damage" to the economy and disrupting the lives of millions.

Szentkiralyi said Karacsony's aim was to turn attention away from the city's bankruptcy that she insisted he and the opposition Tisza Party had caused.

She accused Karacsony of doing everything to "save their political positions by punishing the people of Budapest".

"This is unacceptable," she declared. "We will carry on working to ensure the capital's operations are stable and legal..." she added.

Szentkiralyi: Karacsony and Tisza have bankrupted the country's richest city

Budapest now has 100 billion forints (EUR 248m) more tax revenue per year than it had in 2020, Alexandra Szentkiralyi, the Fidesz-Christian Democrat group leader in the city assembly said on Monday, insisting that Budapest's mayor, Gergely Karacsony, and the opposition Tisza Party had "bankrupted the country's richest city".

Szentkiralyi said annual business tax revenue increased by 161 billion forints between 2020 and 2025, while the solidarity contribution to the state coffers amounted to 67 billion in the same period, insisting that the capital now had "almost 100 billion forints more tax revenue per year than in 2020".

In a post on Facebook, she said the Budapest leadership knew as early as November 2024 that solidarity contributions of 89 billion forints would have to be paid this year but even so they "still planned a 50 billion hole in the budget".

She added that they then signed a 50.9 billion forint contract to cover expenses related to the project in the Rakosrendezo area of the city. "Now that the maths doesn't pan out, they're playing the victim," she said.

"You can't waste money and at the same time complain that there isn't any," Szentkiralyi said, pointing to a graph in her post depicting the capital's rising business tax revenue.

Karacsony: Budapest company unions to set up demonstration and strike committees

Unions at companies run by the Budapest metropolitan council have decided to set up demonstration and strike committees, Gergely Karacsony, the city’s mayor, said on Monday.

Karacsony said on Facebook that he had been told about the decision at a meeting with the employees of Budapest transport company BKV. The mayor said he understood their decision to prepare for a strike, which they will discuss at another meeting in the afternoon.

"It is how the unions point out in their appeal: anyone who wants to push Budapest into bankruptcy will be dragged down with it," Karacsony said. "The anti-Budapest policy will mean the failure of the state."

Karacsony said the unions have called on him to discuss the consequences of the government’s policies with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, adding that he was prepared to meet the prime minister anywhere at any time.

The 27,000 people employed by the city council "understand full well that Budapest can’t keep financing the state", Karacsony wrote. "They can’t keep plugging the holes in the budget with the funds cut from the capital when those holes keep getting bigger," he said. "Budapest is being pushed into poverty as the country also gets poorer and the oligarchs get richer."

"Budapest has to function; Budapest wants to live and not just survive," he added.

Karacsony said his administration will inform the employees at Budapest-run companies of their next steps. Budapest residents will also be kept up to date on platforms, including announcements on public transport.

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all the key narratives within the media landscape.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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