The opposition wants to start investigating the government’s measures during the epidemic

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony has expressed his support for a proposal by Hungary’s opposition parties to set up parliamentary committees to investigate government measures related to the coronavirus epidemic.

Because the government has taken it upon itself to manage the epidemic and the resulting economic slowdown, it must be held accountable for its handling of the crisis, Karácsony said on Facebook. Hungary’s coronavirus

death toll of more than 12,000

and “a slew of scandals involving funds meant to be spent on managing the economic crisis” not only warrants but also requires that parliament hold the government accountable, the mayor said.

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“It’s time to clarify why the government does what it does and what the European Union is doing when it comes to the procurement of vaccines,” Karacsony added.

The mayor said getting fact-based information “free of propaganda” out to the public was the only way to build trust in the vaccine.

He said it was also important to clarify why the country’s Covid-19 death toll was as high as it was and why “three-quarters of the budget resources allocated for economic protection measures have been spent on things that have nothing to do with protecting the economy, jobs and workers”.

Yesterday, representatives of the five parliamentary opposition parties and the extra-parliamentary Momentum Movement initiated an extraordinary session to discuss government measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic, seen by the opposition as insufficient. The proposed session should convene on February 1, and discuss proposals to set up three ad-hoc committees to look into the government’s economic measures,

issues around handling the epidemic in Hungary, as well as vaccine purchases from China.

A proposed amendment aimed at ensuring the continued operations of commercial broadcaster Klubrádió would also be on the session’s agenda.

The parties held a press conference in front of Parliament, at which Momentum vice chair Anna Orosz said that the government’s recent measures “pose the question if they are working to save lives or to stuff their front men with money”.