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Programs
This week the opposition started to publish their program. Perhaps for getting more attention for one field of politics a presentation every day.
They started with social politics on Monday evening. The expression social politics is something the Orbán regime never would use, they prefer family politics. But is it really in favour of families? If you have enough children the state will give you half the price of a 7-seats car. Sounds good? Well, not to every family of course. You need to be married and financially able to pay the other half. And not the half of the average 14 or 17 years old car, this is only applicable if you can buy a new car. You will get a present from the state if you fit into the ideological preferred type of family and do not really need it.
The opposition presented what deserves the name social policy. András Jámbor (founder of Kettős Mérce, Double Standard, candidate of the opposition for the 2022 elections in Ferencváros, 35 years old) pointed out that young adults between 18 and 34 years old live for 62 % with their parents, those who are between 25 and 34 and living with their parents have for 70 % a full-time employment and still are unable to live independently. Communal and social housing programs should improve the situation of renters and social maintenance support should return to the national agenda. The housing savings program should be revived, while the ban of eviction of FOREX credit victims would be prolonged infinitely for secure housing ►HU. MP Lajos Korózs announced a rise of wages for social workers and rise the home care hours and broaden this social service ►HU.
On Tuesday the plans for the economy were published during a virtual press conference. “We need to take over the country in trouble, with public debt on record high, inflation, a depleted coffers and an economy subjugated by NER companies waiting for us next year.” Márton Ilyés, member of the board of Momentum, started the briefing. He pointed out that the new government couldn’t establish fair tax rates (super majority law) and wants to secure the income differently. Right now the minimum wage is in no other EU country taxed as high as in Hungary.
The planning is to join the EU minimum wage initiative ►EN, which is not about a fix amount all across the EU, but related to the income level of the respective country at 60 % of the medium wage. MP László Varju (DK) emphases that Hungarian wages have fallen to the lower end in the region “We Hungarians do not ask for less and we do not deserve less than Europeans, no matter how much the Orbán regime wants to make us believe.” He believes that the EU system is just fair and “does not depend on governments and election promises.”
Dániel Z. Kárpát (Jobbik) declared “that equal competition opportunities and opportunities should be created for all Hungarian entrepreneurs.” And “It mustn’t be decided in Orbán’s study, which entrepreneur may be successful.”
“We are freeing Hungary from corruption,” said Bence Tordai (P) ►HU and announced a complete new and transparent system of public procurement to spend way less for the same products and services. According to his estimation 20 – 30 % are going now into the pockets of FIDESZ. Laws enabling corruption should be abolished. The law on priority investments will be among them, the decisions taken based on it will be reviewed.
But also on smaller level the economy would be freed from corruption, for example the tobacco license scandal will be turned back, where one license per 2 000 inhabitants was granted to only those who “deserved” them politically.
Hungary would join the European prosecutor to avoid future institutional corruption. For politicians stricter rules would be introduced for the declaration of assets, that should become subject of public auditing. “We will see how FIDESZ ministers have become billionaires in the last 12 years, and we will take back the stolen money.”
Health care will get back its own ministry, not longer buried somewhere among other questions as education, employment, social affairs, and so on in the “human resources ministry” Orbán created.
“With this mindful centralisation, the bleeding of local governments and the health care institutions, and the underestimation of prevention and epidemics, the FIDESZ government has lowered the health care performance to an unprecedented low, which works only because of the integrity and sacrifice of its employees, who don’t forget the patients,” Zoltán Komáromi (DK), a general practitioner gave as diagnosis.
The spending for health care needs to be increased in high numbers, he talked about 1 000 – 1 200 billion Forint (2.7 – 3,2 billion Euro) more a year! Waiting lists must disappear, a screening program should be introduced, and the additional private health care sector become really an addition only, not the only way of health care available if one wants both modest standards and short waiting times.
The catastrophic handling of the pandemic shows that Hungary is definitely not fit for the health care of the 21st century and this will be developed after a change of government ►HU.
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Has the following problem also been discussed?
Too many houses are not up to European standards – often they look like ruins:
Insulation of walls, roofs, windows and doors.
Efficient and comfortable heating which would also be helped by the first point.
This would not only bring more comfort but also reduce energy consuption and help the climate. Just to get rid of those fires where everything from paper, plastic and old tires is burned to heat those ruins …
The smoke and the smell are really horrible!
And the list could go on …
Home improvement programs as announced definitely will cover the insulation you write about. There is even an EU program, just Orbán doesn’t decided not to offer it to the people. Instead he gives within limits families 50 % for their renovations, declared as part of the economic stimulation during corona. The rules are that tight that only 80 000 applications were granted. Sure, there are families among those 80 000 that use it for insulation or a new heating, but they also may buy new kitchen furniture for the money. How you regard it, 80 000 is next to nothing seen the state of many houses.
The “everything as long as it burns” heating method has not been mentioned expressively. But it is a symptom for the fact that people can’t live from the money they earn. And here there were a lot of suggestions made.
Following Wolfi’s lead I wonder, has the experience of public corruption in the USA been examined at all by the opposition? I wish the opposition good luck of eliminating corruption from Hungarian politics. Since the 19th century it has been a goal of good government advocates in the USA, it has not been achieved, the public procurement process in major urban centers in the USA has been reformed many times. The so called transparent bidding process was instituted, but that was undermined in many ways. Corruption of the public bidding process has resulted in many people going to jail in the USA.
One way it was undermined was by the reality that big public works projects are monopolized by firms that specialize in civil engineering for example who in turn use subcontractors who are dependent on the large firms. The large firms are often very major contributors to politicians and tied to them, just for example as Lajos Simicska did for many years until he was cut out of the deal. Közgép, a company then belonging to Simicska like here in the USA used subcontracts, one was with Orbán’s father also took part in the costly state project: his mining company, Dolomit Kft., delivered crushed stone to the construction. Among other things, the asphalt mixture of the M4, the roadside and the stop lane were made of stones of the mine owned by Orbán’s father.
Once Simicska completely fell out with Orban, many of the deals were fully transferred over to Orban’s family. The reporting website direkt36.hu/ documented this process in detail. Bence Tordai who is who is the fourth deputy leader of Dialogue is proposing basically the same type of reforms that have not worked in the USA, because the companies who can really bid for these larger public works projects are masters of corruption and hire people connected to whomever is in power. The USA the FBI maintains a unit that largely focuses on public corruption and it has its own website https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/public-corruption if you look at the investigations carried out many involve contractors like this one https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/connecticut-contractor-pleads-guilty-paying-bribes-procurement-consultation-contracts. Effectively what we have created is an industry within the FBI that hunts out public corruption that is never ending and has only a limited impact on preventing future corruption. Illinois had a governor jailed for soliciting bribes, that were taped by the FBI and he has now served his jail time. He is now airing a reality TV show (https://abc7chicago.com/rod-blagojevich-documentary-being-blago-patti-today/11191331/) and how much he was paid for doing it has not been disclosed. The disgraced governor also makes money on podcasts (see https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lightning-rod-with-rod-blagojevich/id1513423591).
Indeed I suspect members of the Orban clan would look at the possibilities of making money off of being jailed for corruption once they are freed if the opposition did win. As the crooks here in Chicago say, it’s a beautiful thing.
My wife just got very angry when she read that O1G’s son in law bought a Hungarian bank – so will he return to Hungary from Spain?
Will his wife accompany him?
Can we expect parking sites filled with used diapers again?
Questions, questions …
This is fantastic, thank you for starting up this site and continuing Eva’s work, István! I love the long-form content
I don’t want to take away any of your readers, but in addition to this blog, you’re also all invited to visit and comment at hungarianpolitics.com
The posts are shorter than here but there are usually several a day and we have a newsletter too!
I see no problem in reading both new sources. Of course it will take some time but I hope that more people will read and comment here and on Steve’s site.
Happy New Year to everybody!
Stevan “and continuing Eva’s work” when it comes to democracy, … and human rights … then the direction is right. “Eva’s work” is not replaceable. Huch und dann war er weg …