Hungary's opposition parties have turned to the Constitutional Court to ask for the annulment of a law that channels public monies into private foundations.
Hungary has been "the first to overcome the coronavirus pandemic" enabling its economy to recover earlier than in other countries, Gergely Gulyás said.
Opposition Calls on Fidesz MP to Step Down for Voting While Allegedly Infected With COVID
Fidesz representative Zsolt Becsó was reported to the authorities by leftist green party Párbeszéd and the centrist Momentum Movement after voting in Parliament despite being infected with Covid. His vote helped Fidesz win the two-thirds majority it needed to pass a bill outsourcing most of Hungary’s universities to foundations.
Zsolt Becsó had no sense of taste or smell on April 27, the day that the government was set to vote on transfering the majority of Hungary’s public universities to foundations, but he went to vote on the bill anyway. After testing positive for Covid, he was sent into a mandated home quarantine.
Momentum supporters gathered on Kossuth Square to set up a “terrace” protesting the government’s “privatization” of universities. Bernadett Szél, Miklós Hajnal, and Anna Orosz spoke to a live stream about why they were there, arguing that while political gatherings are not allowed in Hungary, terraces and soccer matches can reopen.
The intention of Momentum’s gathering was not to appear as a political demonstration, but a makeshift terrace from where they could protest the Hungarian government’s “privatization” of universities. The ruling parties’ majority has transfered various state assets to “public interest asset management foundations,” removing the state’s oversight of hundreds of billions in public funds.
Opposition Turns to Constitutional Court over Ruling Parties Outsourcing Public Assets and Unis
Opposition parties are turning to the Constitutional Court over the controversial law that outsources the operation of several universities and valuable state assets into foundations to be led by a number of figures loyal to the government. While PM Orbán spoke of both competitive and ideological reasons, a renowned
constitutional lawyer also criticized the bill saying that it goes against democratic principles.
The law on public interest asset management foundations which the parliament approved on Tuesday, lists a total of 32 foundations, of which 21 will be in charge of running higher education institutions. The legislation is, however, a highly contested one as not only does the state lose oversight of thousands of billions in public funds, but also a number of government and/or Fidesz politicians or figures loyal to the government have been appointed to these foundations’ boar