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The courts stand up to the unprecedented Orbán-decree: Budapest and other cities may escape the squeeze – UPDATE
Hungary’s municipal system has long been riven with faults, and Budapest is hit particularly hard by the centralisation that leaves its resources barely enough to function normally. A key factor is the so‑called solidarity contribution, which has risen almost twentyfold between 2018 and 2026. As a result the capital brought a case against the state, but the government, in a late‑night decree on Tuesday, sought to end the case so it could collect the unpaid contribution. The courts, however, said no.
The courts gave the government the thumbs‑down
It appears that the legal profession is broadly united in opposing the government’s late‑night decision on Tuesday, which ordered all court cases questioning the level of the solidarity contribution to be closed immediately. Yesterday, the Budapest Metropolitan Court (Budapest Környéki Törvényszék) and the Metropolitan Court (Fővárosi Törvényszék) both ruled that they would not enforce the decree, which carried Viktor Orbán’s signature and cited a state of emergency over the war in Ukraine.
In the case of Szigetszentmiklós, the Budapest Metropolitan Court was slightly more lenient, postponing the next hearing to after the elections, on 19 May. The Metropolitan Court, by contrast, was tougher: the hearing will continue on 16 March as if nothing had happened.
Why was this precedent‑setting intervention needed?
Experts also speculate about the government’s motive in issuing the decree. Some suggest the move recognises that the courts will not side with the government over such a brutal increase in the solidarity contribution. As a result, the government pre‑empted potential precedent in other cases (while at the same time creating a precedent of their own by suspending court hearings with a single decree).
Another interpretation is that the rapid decision aimed to cash in billions of unpaid funds from Budapest before the elections, to push the city to the brink of bankruptcy. In this campaign, the ruling party is visibly concentrating on rural areas and fostering a narrative of urban–rural conflict, which suits an opposition‑led but financially insolvent capital.
What is the solidarity contribution?
The solidarity contribution was introduced in 2018 to help wealthier municipalities support the weaker parts of the country. Yet the distribution is opaque, as is the collection. This year, for example, the government collects the highest share from Csepel in Budapest’s 21st district, while it is far from the wealthiest borough in the capital.
In Budapest, both the city and the districts pay. The capital’s solidarity contribution was 5 billion forints in 2018, but by 2026 it has risen to almost 100 billion. All this despite the fact that its industrial tax revenue (the primary, almost single source it can freely use) has not grown nearly as much.
Another big step towards dictatorship – Fidesz Government trying to annul court cases against it.
If the judicial system becomes under Fidesz control, then Fidesz really can do just whatever they want – no matter what anyone thinks.
One can only hope that the Hungarian judicial system is able to repel this Fidesz government attack against it.
It would be a real problem for Fidesz if the Ukraine war ended. They would have to come up with some other excuse to suppress the rule of law with rule by decree. In the end I’m sure, however, that they would come up with something. Hungary has become a long running joke be it with Orban, Lazar and the endless paedophile scandals.