In a letter, Gergely Karácsony threatened the government that Fővárosi Vízművek will not fulfill its obligation to transfer water stipulated in the contract, if the state does not pay a higher fee to the company. The mayor would use the water supply of twelve agglomeration settlements for political blackmail in order to get money for the capital, which is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. And yet there was money in Budapest: the Karácsony family amassed a fortune of 214 billion in just four years, Magyar Nemzet wrote.
The drinking water supply of a dozen agglomeration settlements near the capital, with a total of more than 150,000 inhabitants, may be at risk if Gergely Karácsony makes good on the threat he made in his letter to the government the other day. In the document obtained by the newspaper, the mayor blackmails the Minister of Energy Csaba Lantos and the Prime Minister Gergely Gulyás by unilaterally canceling the so-called water transfer contracts.
Details of a letter
Gergely Karácsony began with the loss of Fővárosi Vízművek, which he believes is also caused by the fact that, based on some previous water transfer contracts, the company transfers water in large quantities to mainly state-owned water utility providers outside its supply area.
This year, more than 13 million cubic meters. The mayor added: in many cases, this quantity is transferred at frozen prices determined a decade earlier, and the consideration is lower than the cost price.
This situation is unacceptable for the capital city government. No local government can be forced to bear the loss of state performance
- wrote Karácsony, and then formulated his ultimatum: "if the state does not ensure - under any legal title - compensation for the loss of drinking water supply to the areas under the state's responsibility for the year 2023 and the following years for the Capital Waterworks within a fixed deadline, then the Capital Vízművek […] will be forced […] to terminate its water supply contracts.”
In his letter, the mayor did not mention specifics, that is, he did not specify the exact amount demanded, nor when he would make good on his threat. When does the "deadline" come?
Exchange of ideas
The left-liberal city administration started ringing the financial alarm at the beginning of the year, predicting Budapest's possible financial bankruptcy in dramatic announcements. Since then, austerity and money-making ideas have been rife. First, Karácsony reported on the refusal to pay taxes, then Deputy Mayor Kata Tüttő from the MSZP brought up the water fee increase, but at that time only mentioned spoliation as a possibility. However, the fare increase in public transport was realized: on July 21, Gergely Karácsony announced a ticket increase of more than twenty percent
The effect of admonitions
At the same time, Karácsony's current ultimatum does not only fit into the left-wing policy of spending money and austerity, it also fits into Ferenc Gyurcsány's expectations. In a previous interview, the president of the DK said: "The mayor is not willing to fulfill the patriotic obligation of bringing the city into this struggle. It's easy to love Gergely Karácsony, but he doesn't do his job."
The full article HERE .
Cover image: Illustration / Mayor Gergely Karácsony hands over one of the spanners of the Chain Bridge to bridge master János Fazekas at the handover of the renovated bridge at the Buda bridgehead of the Chain Bridge on August 4, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Zsolt Szigetváry)
