The government bill is aimed at ensuring the city receives an instant loan if it cannot pay the salaries of municipal employees or if it cannot finance public services, she said.

The loan is to pay for basic services such as public transport, waste collection and public works.

Even if the metropolitan leadership does not request the loan, it may be extended anyway, "so nobody is left unpaid", she said.
 

In return for the loan the government would expect the city to make its accounts transparent and present regular financial reports, the Fidesz representative said, adding that the scheme would make it impossible for municipal leaders to "steal" or "be secretive" about the city's finances.

Klara Dobrev, head of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), expressed her party's "full rejection" of the "Budapest slave law". She added that DK would not even discuss the bill now before parliament.

Dobrev insisted that the government had been keeping Budapest "under siege" for the past six years for "Budapest's preference of freedom over Fidesz rule". She said the government had first stripped the city of "tens of billions of forints" then "graciously offered a loan ... to be taken out from the oligarchs of Viktor Orban".

Accepting the government's conditions would terminate Budapest's independence and subject the city to government guardianship, she added.
 

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 narratives within the local media.

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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