The government reviewed the Szent István Programme — designed to support rural development and help people living in rural areas stay in their communities — in its first reading, with the programme expected to be presented before 20 August, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced at a Thursday press conference in Budapest, where he outlined the decisions made at the previous day’s cabinet meeting.

He stressed that launching a rural development programme was one of their most important commitments, as was the pledge to allocate one billion forints for every ten settlements for its implementation.

A living, functioning, and humane Hungary is not possible without a living, functioning Hungarian countryside, and without it, depopulation cannot be halted, he declared, emphasising that it is necessary to help people living in rural areas stay in place, find employment, while also supporting mobility and bringing functioning public services to local communities. The Prime Minister stressed that the previous government’s rural development programmes had, to a significant extent, not represented additional resources, but rather a reallocation of funds already earmarked for the existing duties of the state and local governments.

Péter Magyar also reported that the cabinet had taken a preliminary decision on a rail development programme worth several thousand billion forints, financed largely from EU funds. He recalled that developing rail transport is an absolute priority within the European Union. He also noted that the list of developments is not yet final, and that the government has launched a public dialogue on the matter.

The Prime Minister reported that, as part of the HUF 3 billion hospital air conditioning development programme launched a few weeks ago, work has already been completed and handover carried out at 11 sites. At another 11 sites, the replacement, upgrading, and conversion of air conditioning units is currently under way. At eight sites, the developments will be concluded at dates agreed with the hospitals due to an expansion of technical scope. A further 25 new sites also had to be added to the project because of breakdowns; at three of these sites the developments will be handed over shortly, while at 22 sites either construction or planning has already begun.

He announced that the Minister of the Interior is ordering a thirty-day enhanced public safety operation in the capital, involving the Budapest Police Headquarters, the Standby Police, and civil guard units, in response to reports from residents and several mayors about deteriorating public safety in recent times.

He added that the primary areas of the operation are the surroundings of high-traffic entertainment venues in the inner city, as well as the Rákosrendező area, in light of the public safety problems and resident reports observed in recent times.

The aim of the measure is to visibly increase police presence, prevent unlawful acts, curb repeat offending behaviour, and maintain order in public spaces, he said.

Péter Magyar added that in the affected areas, a significant portion of public safety problems do not stem exclusively from law enforcement issues, but are linked to homelessness, addiction, lack of psychiatric care, and other social problems. For this reason, actors from the social and healthcare systems will also be involved in the operation.

The prime minister pointed out that the police force had been taken over from the Orbán government with a 20.2 percent staffing shortfall, and the Budapest Metropolitan Police Headquarters with a 38.3 percent shortfall.

In order to increase police presence in public spaces in the short term, the targeted use of overtime is justified due to the staffing shortfall; accordingly, 750 million forints from the funds available under the Drug-Free Hungary programme may be allocated to cover overtime payments.

At the briefing, the prime minister also announced that the 20 August celebrations would be held at a fraction of the cost, for 4.3–4.4 billion forints. He added that the Orbán government had arranged for the series of celebrations to be organised at a significantly inflated price of 17.5 billion forints by Gyula Balásy’s Lounge Event Kft., which had already been paid an advance of 8.7 billion forints.

In view of the ongoing proceedings against the company group, the National Event Organising Agency terminated the contract and then, due to the short timeframe, announced an invitation-only tender, which has already been adjudicated, he said. He stated that the fireworks display would be significantly shorter, but would be supplemented with a light show and a drone show.

At the press briefing, Péter Magyar predicted the complete collapse of Fidesz, recalling that in his first interview, given to Partizán in February 2024, he had already stated that many people could not imagine how quickly the system of national cooperation could fall apart.

He noted that the events of the April election and of the past week appeared to confirm this, and that Fidesz “will probably not be able to survive in its current form.” We are on the threshold of a complete collapse, and the processes are accelerating — he said.

On the subject of former foreign trade and foreign affairs minister Péter Szijjártó having taken a position at BYD, the prime minister said this would not affect the company’s relationship with Hungary. According to his information, employees at the company were also surprised by the decision, “they were not informed in advance and do not agree with it.”

He confirmed that the same rules apply to BYD as to other industrial investors. Environmental, labour, and other regulations must be observed both during the investment and in ongoing operations, and if they comply, pay their taxes, and fulfil the commitments made in their subsidy agreements, “then we are glad they are here” — he said.

The company received approximately 300 billion forints in support, including direct grants and infrastructure development and energy commitments undertaken by the Hungarian state, the prime minister elaborated.

He said an investigation had been launched into the former foreign minister’s ties to Russia, but did not share details, saying he did not want to prejudge the matter.

Péter Magyar also said that the case of Péter Szijjártó could lead to tighter rules on post-tenure employment of state officials at private companies.

He noted that companies themselves also require that employees may not take up positions at competitors after leaving. Referring to Péter Szijjártó, he remarked that in a normal democracy it cannot happen that someone who considers himself a national patriot politician then goes to work for an international global multinational company “whose support he lobbied for.” This raises not only moral but also legal responsibility, he added.

Artificial intelligence was used for the translation of parts of the original Hungarian text.