In an interview with television channel Dunaújváros Televízió on Tuesday, Viktor Orbán said that the government agreement with Dunaújváros can be divided into three parts.
Programme points cover: economic development; improving citizens’ quality of life; education issues at vocational level, and now also university level.
On Tuesday, as part of the Modern Cities Programme, Mr. Orbán signed an agreement with Mayor Gábor Cserna (FIDESZ-KDNP) on investments of some HUF 20 billion. Mr. Orbán reiterated that in order for a city to develop in Hungary, a close and good relationship is needed between the current municipality and the Government.
The Prime Minister said that “Municipalities can implement certain developments on their own, but those of larger scale cannot be carried out in this way. If a city envisages a larger project, it needs to convince the Government; and if the Government wants to achieve important goals somewhere, it has to convince the given municipality. We rely on cooperation”.
He added that it is easy to cooperate with the city of Dunaújváros, because “this city is not just one of a kind, but it is also close to the hearts of FIDESZ and the Christian Democratic People’s party”. The Prime Minister also said that the municipality and the residents will always keep in mind that if “our flag – the FIDESZ-KDNP flag – is raised, they can rely on the Government”.
He pointed out that in today’s new political system based on national cooperation, Budapest will not determine what people in Dunaújváros should do. He added that he had received complete plans which could be discussed and agreed on reasonably.
The Prime Minister mentioned some details of the agreement, including: a trade hub; the replacement of buses used in local public transport; road construction; the establishment of a transport centre; research at the University of Dunaújváros on electromobility; the modernisation of a former medical centre and leisure and swimming pools; the development of Szalki Island; the construction of a new handball arena; the refurbishment of a former amusement park and the Radar sports ground; and a new local hotel.
Regarding the municipal by-election on Sunday, he said that it will be an important one, and what happens in Dunaújváros matters. He pointed out that it matters who is in the city council, because this is where the future of Dunaújváros is determined. He said that he believes it would be good if the city places trust in a lady with outstanding abilities, such as the FIDESZ candidate, Fruzsina Lassingleitner.
He added that the residents of Dunaújváros have elected FIDESZ-KDMP Members of Parliament on the last three occasions, which he greatly appreciates. He also said that the political orientation of the city and the governing parties “have been in harmony for almost one and a half to two decades”, and the city of Dunaújváros and its residents have also benefited from this cooperation.