Based on leaked comments from their “program writing group” on Discord, activists for Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party would abolish the extra pension for the elderly, the pension premium, and women’s option for early retirement, writes Magyar Nemzet.
The party’s Discord group is often mentioned by Tisza politicians; it is full of the party’s official moderators, and Péter Magyar even gives instructions, notes the portal.
Gábor Gutási, a regular in the group and reportedly an aspiring Tisza MP, said the 13th-month pension should be abolished and replaced with some form of family support. Gutási is noted to have also taken part in the Optor demonstrations in Serbia, which also featured aggressive, anarchist methods.
Another user commented: “There are two possible ways out, both of which are painful. One is similar to the Greek consolidation, i.e., to add another shovel to the crisis and make the economy sustainable with further austerity measures. For example, to eliminate the 13th-month pension, suspend it, etc. The point is that much more needs to be cut, even though it is already painful. But at least a quick death will come, and then the resurrection can come. The Bokros package was like that.”
The Bokros package was a series of austerity measures launched by Socialist PM Gyula Horn in 1995. This activist also believes many elements could be taken from Argentinia’s brutal austerity measures, again mentioning the abolition of the 13th-month pension.
This is not the first time Péter Magyar’s party has argued in favor of such a move. At the end of December, one user also wrote that “the 13th-month should be abolished.” The same activist noted earlier that Magyar had not yet said this himself, but “it costs an extremely high price, we are simply not a rich enough country to pay people 13 months of pension. (…) My opinion is clear: A potential new government must immediately abolish the 13th-month pension, no matter how big the political loss.”
According to another program writer on Discord, the problem is that if the VAT on basic foodstuffs were reduced, this would equal the amount of the 13th-month, but pensioners won’t be able to figure this out. Still, they say, the 13th-month benefit must be abolished.
Yet another wrote that “the entire pension system, as it is, is a mess,” noting that the contributions paid in are “not even enough for a quarter of the payments.”
Mária Zita Petschnig, an economist who is close to the Tisza party, has recently spoken on video openly about her disapproval of the 13th-month pension as well. And György Raskó, the agricultural entrepreneur supporting Tisza, has said that Magyar has no interest in politicians over the age of 45 for top postings.
In another, now deleted, Facebook post, Raskó said: “It is in the Tisza’s favor that many members of the elderly generation, in the order of hundreds of thousands, will drop out as voters by the next elections…”
Hungary currently has over 2 million pensioners in a population of close to 10 million.
But the Tisza program writers on Discord also went after women, regarding the the pension available to them after the age of 40 years of employment: “That’s also nonsense, it should either be abolished, or men should have it, or there should be none.”
Another commenter took aim at the “pension premium,” saying: “What does a pensioner get a premium for??? A bonus??? If I work more and better, I get a bonus. What does a pensioner get it based on?”
First paid in 2017, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said about the premium: “If the economy performs well, then the entire country generates a surplus, from which pensioners should also benefit, because if the active part of the country is successful, then the inactive part should also be successful since their work contributed to the success of those who are now active.” There has been no pension premium for a couple of years due to slower economic growth.
The death of the elderly comes up frequently in this group as well.
“Why is there a pension, why do people get a pension?? Why do we give them a pension?? Why do we pay them when they don’t do anything?” Another responded: “Yeah, they’re no use anymore, I know, but then at least we’ll allow euthanasia.”
