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Following Wednesday afternoon’s cabinet meeting, the government convened a press conference on Thursday to announce the decisions made and discuss current issues. The press event held in the morning covered drought prevention, the real estate market, including the government’s latest decision on a loan scheme, and last Saturday’s Pride parade.
On the loan program revealed on Wednesday, Minister Gergely Gulyás, head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said that the government had “created a new product that had not been seen in decades.” This will allow us to make significant progress in the area of home creation, as this program is not linked to starting a family or having children, he explained.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán already presented some details of the three percent home loan program, called “Otthon Start” (“Home Start”), on Wednesday. As reported by Hungary Today, the current measure has no age limit and applies to anyone who has never owned a home. Providing further details at the press event, Gergely Gulyás said that the only requirement is that those affected must have at least two years of social security coverage. The state guarantees a three percent interest rate until the end of the term, and the down payment is as low as possible, at 10 percent. The Minister explained that the aim is not to help people buy luxury properties, as the price cap is 1.5 million forints (3,800 euros) per square meter.
The Minister emphasized that
the three percent “Otthon Start” loan can also be applied for in conjunction with other loan programs.
He noted that this is a good opportunity for anyone who wants to buy their first property in Hungary. Prices in Budapest are expected to rise regardless of subsidized loans, but housing prices in Warsaw, Bratislava, and Prague are also higher than in the Hungarian capital. Real estate prices are going up everywhere, especially in big cities, he pointed out.
The Hungarian banking sector is ready to sign contracts as quickly and easily as possible, and banks will continue to assess creditworthiness, he added.
The government is hoping that contracts can be signed starting in September.
Minister Gulyás informed the press that the Task Force against Drought had also met recently. The politician pointed out that the situation remains difficult, but he remarked that the body was set up in May, and since then about a thousand people have been working to deliver about a third of the water volume of Lake Balaton to farmers. He said that Brussels had also attacked the measures, but the government was sticking to the program. He noted, however, that
the goal is not to completely eliminate the drought, but to mitigate it, which is considered realistic with the current interventions.
Government spokesperson Eszter Vitályos spoke about Tibor Kapu conducting experiments and scientific research on the International Space Station (ISS) as a member of the Axiom-4 mission. She thanked government commissioner Orsolya Ferencz and the HUNOR Hungarian space program’s staff.
The starry sky is not the limit, but the beginning. We wish the crew a safe return,”
said Vitályos.
According to Gulyás, it is the responsibility of the Educational Authority to investigate whether LGBTQ propaganda is taking place in schools, all of which are subject to the law. In the case of a company operating with public funds, if this has happened, it is extremely worrying, he said, in response to reports that BKV (Budapest Transport Privately Held Corporation) had held sensitivity training for its employees.
It is not clear why it is important for a bus or tram driver to have an opinion on Pride,
he said.
When asked by ATV whether Gergely Karácsony, the Mayor of Budapest, should go to prison for participating in the organization of an illegal gathering, Gulyás said that fortunately, politicians no longer decide who goes to prison.
“Minister of Justice Bence Tuzson did not send a message to Karácsony, but drew his attention to the fact that,
according to one of the provisions of the Criminal Code (BTK), anyone who participates in an illegal gathering can be sentenced to one year in prison,”
he noted.
The Minister explained that the assessment of the participants is the authorities’ task, but it must be taken into account during the investigation that two conflicting statements have been made about assembly.
The state communicated one thing and the local government communicated another, one saying that this was an illegal meeting and the other saying that they could participate in it without fear. This cannot be ignored with regard to the participants,”
he emphasized.
In response to TV2‘s question that Karácsony had taken millions out of the pockets of Budapest residents to organize the Pride event, Minister Gulyás said that the same rules apply to the capital as to the state when it comes to spending public funds and accounting for them. “Especially since the event was not approved by the City Council. We see that the capital city is proclaiming its near bankruptcy while organizing Pride at considerable expense and acquiring land for 50 billion forints,” he said, referring to the fact that Budapest exercised its pre-emption rights on the land in Rákosrendező.
Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured image: MTI/Balogh Zoltán
