The group leaders of six Budapest districts allied to Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party are demanding that left-wing mayors of their respective districts to pay out energy subsidies to those in need, saying the mayors had refused to hold consultations with the government concerning the support.
By refusing to engage in consultations with the government on support schemes for the needy the mayors could harm their respective districts, the six Fidesz mayors said in a video statement on Thursday. The households in question could miss out on 30,000-40,000 forints (EUR 75-100) in various support payments, including for utility bills, the statement said.
Andrea Gyurakovics, Fidesz-KDNP group leader of the 9th district, said the left-wing mayors “refuse to admit their own responsibility and continue to point a finger at the government,” she said. She accused the mayors of taking instructions from opposition DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány to forgo hundreds of millions of forints in government support, “violating their mayoral oath” on their assumption that “the worse it is for the people, the better it is for the left wing”. She said the joint proposal of ruling-party group leaders is that mayors who failed to secure government support for energy compensation should pay all district residents in need 30,000 forints per person from their 2023 budget.