“Consultations are already in progress with the Banking Association and the National Bank of Hungary on where strengthened oversight is necessary,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in connection with the Buda-Cash case in an interview with public broadcaster Kossuth Rádió.
Concerning his State of the Nation address last week and the lost Veszprém election, the Prime Minister said that while the previous cycle was rather comfortable in terms of domestic affairs, these four years will be “far more filled with fights over domestic affairs,” in which “we will have to stand strong.”
Evaluating the Veszprém election results, Mr. Orbán said that the reason why some of the voters may not be satisfied with the Government is because on the one hand they expect more consultations and slower decisions, and also because “we did not take up the gauntlet.” Fidesz voters are probably of the opinion that “we did not fight well enough.” This is why they expect more readiness to fight, “a straightforward and clear answer to every attack directed against us,” he explained, summarizing the issue by saying that the Government needs to fight better.
Concerning Fidesz-KDNP losing its two-thirds majority, the Prime Minister said that they will manage without it, and that where there is a need for such a majority they will consult with the opposition. As an example of such an issue he mentioned the matter of Hungarian military participation in Kurdistan. “Whether we can acquire the two-thirds majority on this will emerge in the coming days,” he added.
As for the hardworking people mentioned in his State of the Nation address, the Prime Minister emphasised that the Government must aim at providing as many opportunities as possible to those who wish to provide a living for themselves and their families through work. He also stressed that “It is not rocket science to say that it is better to live off work than benefits.”
The Buda-Cash case – We urgently need to investigate all brokerage firms
Continuing with the Buda-Cash case, Mr. Orbán pointed out that all brokerage firms must be investigated as a matter of urgency, and “this stable must be cleaned out.” He confirmed that the Government is in consultations with the Banking Association and the National Bank on where the system for oversight must be made stricter; we must not allow the most important question to be forgotten: “Where is the people’smoney?”
“If I could direct the investigation, those responsible would all be in prison by now,” Mr. Orbán said, referring to those involved in the series of fraudulent activities at Buda-Cash, emphasising at the same time that the Government cannot exercise control over the judiciary. He then went on to say that it would be logical for local governments to have their accounts at the Treasury instead; its modernization must therefore be speeded up.
There will be an advertising tax
In his interview, the Prime Minister announced that the Government has made a decision on road toll compensation, and the technical work is already in progress. Ha also talked about the Electronic Trade and Transport Control System (EKÁER), saying that “It has taken its final form.” In his opinion this system is a radical step towards combating VAT fraud.
Elaborating on the advertising tax, Mr. Orbán said that the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs was already discussing the changes proposed by the European Union; “the bullet is already in the barrel,” he said, describing tax exemptions for the smallest companies as a serious proposal. However, he also announced that there will be an advertising tax, saying that he would not want a situation to be established in which otherwise rational and useful decisions are discarded just because a lot of people are against them, because “then the amounts needed would have to be collected from the quieter Hungarians.”
On the proposal for a nine-year elementary school system, the Prime Minister said that consultations have not yet been concluded and discussions are ongoing, but he made it clear that the elementary school education system must be reformed, because there are masses of children leaving elementary school without adequate preparation for secondary education.
Finally the issue of the planned free trade agreement between the EU and the US was also discussed, in relation to which Mr. Orbán declared that he will not support an agreement which takes decision-making on economic legal disputes from the Hungarian court system and gives it to some far-off court.