Budapest’ liberal mayor Gergely Karácsony has one, and only one main agenda: keep the Hungarian capital in chaos as much as possible, writes Magyar Nemzet columnist Dávid Megyeri in an editorial in conservative daily Magyar Nemzet.
As the saying of famous physicist Niels Bohr goes, “prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future”.
While that may generally hold true, the case of Mayor Karácsony disproves it, as the actions of himself and his entourage are nothing if not predictable. We can, for example, safely predict that the long-overdue restoration of the capital’s iconic Chain Bridge is not going to proceed at anything resembling a normal pace.
Over the past few weeks, Karácsony issued a series of contradictory statements as to the progress of the renovation, variously saying that the preparatory work was either 99 percent complete or that they are very close to actually issuing a tender. Whatever he says, he is betting on the liberal press to cover for him anyway.
Their only real purpose is to keep the government and the conservative public guessing and annoyed. And what project could be more suited for such a purpose than the issue of the Chain Bridge? They are going to keep it balanced on a knife edge, heaping delay upon delay and at all times ready to blame the government for not properly financing it, even in the absence of any meaningful cost assessment.
Every task they lay their hands on is seen as yet another opportunity to irritate the public and point fingers at the government, even if that government and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have no jurisdiction over the matter. But with his political hound dog being the ex-socialist finance minister, Tibor Draskovics, that is to be fully expected.
The chaotic state of affairs at City Hall doesn’t bother them at all, nor does the fact that an increasing number of positions are given to incompetent people because this, ultimately, serves their purpose and of their paymasters abroad. We can call this operation “Thorn under the skin”, whereby everything must be destroyed or ran into the ground, so they can subsequently blame the government. And they will spare no cost to do so, be it about a World Heritage bridge, the Liget project or public transportation.
They intend to artificially create a revolutionary atmosphere, and in order to do so, they are even willing to go against their own voters, as the case of the new downtown bicycle lanes proves.
By reducing the number of lanes available to cars, they are in fact increasing pollution resulting from traffic jams, doing a disservice to everyone.
Karácsony is even ignoring his own campaign slogan of “Everybody’s Budapest”. Yes, the capital belongs to everybody, except those not belonging to the left, car owners, those who prefer development projects, sports, or efficient public transportation.
During his election campaign he promised to end corruption and promote transparency. He should start by holding weekly press conferences as his predecessor did, who was not afraid of the city’s residents and who, despite his age, was far more youthful and modern than Karácsony is.
