I take the dog for a walk while still half asleep (actually he takes care of my health), I see trash cans lined up in front of the fence of the apartment building. I wouldn't bother with it, but then one of the neighbor women, who was talking to another at the gate, spoke up.
"You see," he tells me, "the garbage men didn't take the trash away." Even the sorted bins were left here yesterday. - Well, - I answer out of the blue - I kissed Gergely Karácsony... The answer was gravely silent, none of the women said anything, and one of them added:
"And what else will be here?" It is as if Hungary is half way to the end of the world from the teacher and trash strike.
Everyone went about their business, and then I remembered that my partner had already told me that both of the good, friendly ladies and her family are "social", so they don't think like us. (If the word "social" still had any meaning today.) So, of course, it became understandable why both of them remained silent when they heard the name of the mayor, even though - I assume - they must have known that the FKF and the garbage collection were owned by the mayor's office in Budapest.
Perhaps you could also read in the morning papers that the Karácsonys (more precisely, the left-wing management of the capital city company) threatened to fire the garbage collectors if they did not take the job. According to Origo, the workers were outraged that Ágoston Tringer, BKM's communications director, said two weeks ago that it was good to be a garbage man at BKM's FKF Waste Management Division, since
"In Budapest, a garbage collector can take home a gross salary of up to HUF 500,000 per month, depending on performance." And that wasn't true.
The other thing they objected to is that the FKF employs inspectors whose job it is to follow the bins and see if they get pocket money or if the bin they empty is registered.
In addition, inspectors earn HUF 150,000 more than the garbage collectors themselves.
However, Budapest would have the money to improve the situation of the garbage collectors. The VG.hu graphic clearly shows that Budapest has the best budget situation in the whole country. According to the latest data, this year more business tax may flow into the coffers of Budapest than in the peak year of 2019 before Covid.
However, this is not in the best interests of Gyurcsány, who is acting as mayor and with his boss.
What is important for him/her is to be a bad guy in Budapest. As big a mess as possible. The best of the national and international media in Libsi to shower their eyes on the capital and come here to take pictures.
Which, of course, is bad for both tourism and Hungary.
And the issue of the underpaid garbage collectors can be neatly mixed up with the teachers' strike and the whole thing can be pinned on the neck of the Orbán government.
That's why they won't agree with them either.
Picture: Bálint Hirling
