Today marks the formation of Budapest’s new city assembly. Fidesz’s Budapest leader, Szentkirályi Alexandra, outlined her party’s vision for the capital’s future in a post on Facebook. Apart from offering a number of important proposals on how urgent issues could be resolved in the Hungarian capital city, she criticized the current administration for focusing too much on figures like Mayor Gergely Karácsony, Tisza Party leader Péter Magyar, and independent Dávid Vitézy, while neglecting critical issues facing the city’s residents.

Szentkirályi underscored the need to address public order, homelessness, and sanitation, introducing Fidesz’s three proposals targeting these areas. Additionally, she presented an eight-point plan aimed at reshaping the city’s governance, which the party expects the Budapest Assembly to support in the interests of local citizens.

• The first point in Fidesz’s plan calls for an end to what Szentkirályi referred to as ‘one-person decision-making’, accusing Mayor Karácsony of bypassing the assembly in key decisions since the pandemic, especially after losing majority with Ferenc Gyurcsány’s allies backing out from behind him. The party seeks to restore the rights of elected representatives to provide greater balance in the decision-making process.
• Fidesz also proposed reducing the number of committees from five to two, consolidating responsibilities into a Legal, Mandate, and Finance Committee, and a Climate Protection and Transport Committee. According to Szentkirályi, this move would not only make city operations more efficient but also save the citizens of Budapest 214 million forints over five years.
• In addition, the party aims to eliminate the system of advisors, which, according to Szentkirályi, has become a tool for political deals rather than serving the public interest. She criticized the Mayor’s plans to expand the number of his advisors, arguing it would cost the city 81 million forints over the coming cycle.
• Szentkirályi further expressed concerns over changes to the assembly’s schedule, which has seen meetings shifted from Wednesdays to Fridays at the request of Péter Magyar, an MEP from the Tisza Party, to accommodate his commitments in Brussels. Fidesz believes that the capital’s agenda should not be dictated by external forces, emphasizing that those who represent Budapest should prioritize the city.
• Fidesz is also pushing for reforms to make the assembly more responsive to local issues. The party advocates extending the time available for submitting questions and setting shorter deadlines for written responses to interpellations, allowing councillors to address pressing matters more efficiently.
• Another key proposal is to require the heads of Budapest’s public companies to report quarterly to the assembly, ensuring greater accountability over the management of the city’s vast financial resources.
• Szentkirályi also called for the reinstatement of the Budapest Info sessions, where the mayor would regularly brief the media and public on city matters, a practice introduced by Fidesz-backed Mayor István Tarlós and scrapped by Karácsony. She argued that citizens deserve transparency and direct communication about the city’s affairs, rather than relying on selective or curated updates.
• Finally, Fidesz is demanding that the mayor fulfil his promise of creating an anti-corruption research room, where the public can access city documents and contracts. According to Szentkirályi, despite Karácsony’s promises of transparency, the last five years have been rife with corruption scandals, and citizens have the right to scrutinize public records.

Szentkirályi concluded by assuring that Fidesz is committed to working for all Budapest residents, stating that it is time to refocus on the city’s real issues, rather than turning the city’s grand hall into a stage for political dramas.

Related articles: