Gergely Karácsony: We survive even if we die
“We survive even if we die. Failure to curb energy prices can have unforeseeable consequences. We are not looking at the process with folded hands, but there is no city manager in Europe today who can say with certainty what tomorrow will bring. Treating the citizens of Budapest like adults, I can only promise that: a very difficult period is coming,” said the Mayor of Budapest People’s word in a given interview.
According to Gergely Karácsony, “the government is now in more trouble” than the capital, “only the compensation for district heating takes one and a half times the money set aside in the utility bill, and district heating is just one of a long list”.
“If I have to choose whether we will have an overdraft and an unpaid bill or the city will shut down, I will choose to pay a little later. Next year, HUF 55 billion solidarity tax must be paid to the central budget.” In the interview, he also talked about how he is “the one who will win the 2024 mayoral election and help the parties to be successful in the districts as well.”
When asked who from the government they are negotiating with on Budapest, he replies, “the government relations are quite unclear, there is no designated Budapest negotiator in the government”, and that he is patient, “but it has been a few months since the formation of the government”. “Meanwhile, I kissed Lázár’s muse, from whom he is waiting for inspiration to sit at the negotiating table with me. If the muse finally comes, then in addition to the state investment list, we would also have something to talk about about the amendments to the building regulations”, ondtaq Karácsony, saying that it seems to him that “the government currently does not have a Budapest strategy”.
Regarding the fact that BKV does not yet have an electricity contract for the future, he said that at the end of the year we will find a way to get electricity cheaper.
“But the tram won’t run then, the street lights will go dark if someone cuts off the electricity. It won’t be me. There may come a time when we can’t pay the bill, but we’re not going to stop the vehicles and turn off the lights.”