When asked why Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s first official visit abroad was to the Vatican rather than Poland, his usual first stop after his re-election, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyás said that ‘Orbán was honored to be received in private audience by Pope Francis, and this did not indicate that Poland would play a lesser role in Hungary’s foreign policy, “regardless of the currently significant differences of opinion”.

Meanwhile, Gulyás said that Máté Kocsis will lead the Fidesz parliamentary group in the new assembly. He declined to answer questions about the new cabinet. Gulyás, however, said there were no plans to create a dedicated health ministry or education ministry.

Commenting on health care, he said that a series of important changes had taken place during consultations with the medical chamber: parliament approved a law on the new legal status of doctors and their salaries had increased to an unprecedented degree precedent during the last government term.

Gulyás said government spending on family support, the highest as a share of GDP in Europe,

would continue and would be guided by demographic considerations rather than by public finances. The government remains open to expanding this kind of support, he added.

In response to a question on the price cap, he said that before making decisions, their effect on sectoral revenues and the national economy would first be assessed. Decisions will be made on the basis of complex economic calculations, and talks will take place as early as next week on food price caps, he added.

Commenting on utility price caps, he said it was difficult to predict how long current market prices would remain in place, but the government had a plan for the resources needed to fund them. The cabinet has not yet discussed sectoral windfall taxes, Gulyás said, but he has not ruled out the possibility of levying them.

In response to a question about the arrest of several finance ministry officials suspected of corruption, he said five people were in custody, a senior department head among them. He added that minor cases of fraud were allegedly committed and that one of the department heads in the Prime Minister’s Office was also a suspect.

Gulyás said the disputes and “moralizing” over Russian gas purchases were senseless because stopping such purchases would bring the Hungarian and German economies to their knees.

Commenting on oil, he said there was a need to assess how Russian oil purchases could be replaced. Switching over the Szazhalombatta oil refinery would take several years and cost several hundred billion forints, he added.

Meanwhile, Gulyás spoke about the extraordinary difficulties faced by members of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia. While the Hungarian government spearheaded humanitarian aid and aid shipments, incitement against Hungarians in Transcarpathia was ongoing and predated the war, he said.

Gulyás said it was difficult to say how many refugees would remain in Hungary, adding that a few tens of thousands of jobs were available in the country and those able to work were likely to choose to stay. On public finance, he said the 2022 budget would be amended in light of inflation but the details should be worked out first. Amendments will be made during the spring session of parliament, he added, despite the complications of setting up a new government.

If the 2023 budget is approved in the coming period, the amendment of the 2022 budget will certainly be on the agenda as well, he said. Answer a question about

the possible renationalisation of Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt International Airport, he said the government wanted to go ahead with the plan, “but the conditions for financing must first be established”.

In response to a question regarding the EU’s rule of law procedure against Hungary, Gulyás accused “Brussels” of acting undemocratically “in many respects”. “However, Member States [act democratically]offering significant support to Hungarian views,” he added.

Gulyás insisted that not all disputes were about the rule of law but were political in nature, and he also accused some MEPs and European Commissioners of “lawfare” and

copying reports from organizations funded by financier George Soros as part of a “political battle”.

Even if a deal cannot be reached on the EU recovery fund in time, the government does not plan to withdraw any tenders, he said.

On Covid, Gulyás said the government is not planning any further restrictions.

The end-of-school-year exams will take place normally, he said. If cases in September rise to previous highs, the government will consider further action, but forecasts do not point in that direction, he said.

Commenting on a statement by Csaba Horváth, the mayor of Budapest’s 14th district, that further austerity measures could be considered in the city, Gulyás pledged continued government financial support to Budapest. At the same time, he insisted that the city’s income from corporation tax had turned out “more than expected and more than ever before”, so its financial situation was better than ever. .

Source: MTI