The extension of EU sanctions to energy carriers was a fundamental mistake, prices started to rise significantly after that, said Gergely Gulyás, the Minister in charge of the Prime Minister's Office, at the Tihany Tranzit Közéléti Season Opening and Gondolate Expo on Saturday. The head of the ministry debated with Ferenc Gelencsér, the president of Momentum.
Gergely Gulyás said in response to the suggestion regarding the provision of energy supply: the state buys at fixed prices, until April it was necessary to pay around 21 dollars for crude oil, the price of gas was also fixed and one-tenth of the current price. Since the Union extended the sanctions to the field of energy, the prices started to increase - he pointed out, adding: "this was a fundamental mistake".
The government cannot be accused of having anything to do with the prices set on the Rotterdam stock exchange. Looking at Friday's gas and electricity prices and taking into account the utility reduction, they see that the amount that electricity and gas would cost at market prices is over HUF 330,000. Compared to this, they can achieve that HUF 25,000 must be paid for the two, that is, they can provide HUF 300,000 monthly support to each household, the minister indicated.
"This government lied morning, noon and night, well before April you could see that the price of gas on the world market would rise shockingly", said Ferenc Gelencsér , who said they knew exactly: they would implement the utility reduction, but in order to win the elections, they didn't tell the truth. According to him, EU funds should have been used for the insulation of residential properties, but the government did not do so. He noted: Fidesz representatives voted for all sanctions.
He also said that in this difficult economic situation, they decided to buy a share in Vodafone.
Gergely Gulyás said that the two questions have nothing to do with each other. It is necessary to consider whether it is a good investment or not, and whether it is correct to aim for at least 50 percent Hungarian ownership in the banking sector, the energy sector, and the media. It is a profitable company, the profit can even be used for teachers' salaries.
He responded to the question about the significant increase in the price of food: today the banks and Mol pay in amounts from which they were able to start the overhead protection fund and from which they can ensure the reduction of overheads. He proposed program changes to Momentum, as its program includes tax increases in several areas.
Ferenc Gelencsér said: every single tax increase is integrated into the prices and this is also realized for food. The solution is to not raise taxes. The party's latest program is from 2018, all programs older than four years must be reviewed, he responded.
The Paks power plant is important, nuclear energy is good, it is not good that the Russians are building the power plant, with Russian credit, he remarked in response to another suggestion.
Gergely Gulyás indicated that they would be happy to replace the Russian loan, if there is openness on the part of the European Commission. The first two blocks in Paks were also built with Russian technology, you can choose something else, but then there will be a delay of ten years. The power supply can be guaranteed today because there is Paks, he stated.
Ferenc Gelencsér, reacting to the removal of the leaders of the National Meteorological Service, said that he does not think that it is a cardinal question whether there will be fireworks today or not. For the sake of the current head of the service, he hopes it will be, he noted ironically.
Referring to the topic of the conversation, i.e. who is right-wing and who is left-wing, he raised, among other things, whether it is a left-wing or a national issue that teachers are not paid.
Gergely Gulyás responded that he doesn't think Momentum is right-wing, but he doesn't think it's left-wing either. According to the minister, the opposition as a whole is struggling with an identity crisis, and their attitude to countless issues stems from this. Speaking about teachers' wages, he recalled that as a first big step, salaries were raised in 2010, bringing them closer to the average graduate salary. At the same time , the minister considered the demand to raise teachers' wages again to be justified. That is why they undertake to reach 80 percent of the average graduate salary by 2027 , he confirmed. He also mentioned that Momentum's EU representatives earn a net five million per month and in the meantime do a lot to prevent Hungary from getting the subsidies. If this were to change, they would definitely be ahead, and he asked for help in this.
Ferenc Gelencsér said that the government derives everything from national sovereignty and is now waiting for Brussels, which it has been attacking for 12 years. "This is ridiculous," he said. When asked what the opposition would do, he indicated: they have been saying for years that it is necessary to come to an agreement with the European Union.
We do not expect any help, there are resources that belong to Hungary - answered Gergely Gulyás . He underlined: the operative program sent to the Union includes a salary increase for health workers and teachers. In response to the criticism of too fast legislation, he said that in the United States of America, the debt ratio of the budget was raised in a few hours and thousands of billions were decided in a short time. In Hungary, orderly and clear rules determine in which matters such a thing can be done and in which it cannot, the minister said.
The president of Momentum indicated that even he voted for Fidesz in 2010, but in his opinion, the larger government party appropriates the concept of the nation. In response, the minister asked the question: can the country be in opposition? We are all part of the nation, even if some members of the opposition do a lot to question that from time to time, he noted.
Source: MTI
(Cover image: Attila Polyák – Origo )
