The previous political elite deliberately neglected climate protection and climate change, the Prime Minister said on Monday in a pre-agenda address to the National Assembly. Péter Magyar announced that in August of this year, 28 percent more water is being retained in Hungary than a year ago.

The Prime Minister said that a ministerial address opening with the words climate change, water scarcity, and climate change might seem unique and novel.

He stated that after sixteen, or rather thirty-six, wasted years, it is not possible to make up for every failure in just three months, but the current drought situation also proves that addressing this set of problems is not an unnecessary luxury, “not a Western ideological deviation,” but rather one of the most important adaptations to changed circumstances — one that the previous political elite deliberately neglected.

Based on the experiences of recent weeks, it appears that over the past decades, not only in parliament but throughout the entire government, confronting the drastically changed environmental conditions and preparing the steps necessary to avert climate catastrophe — in other words, genuine action — was effectively forbidden.

He criticised the Orbán government for dissolving the Water Management Scientific Research Institute in 2012, and for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s statement in 2023 that Hungary has a surplus of water and no water shortage. He also took issue with the fact that former Speaker of the House László Kövér said in 2019 that so many people were concerned about climate change only because of the brainwashing effect of the media, while in December 2025 former minister János Lázár acknowledged that water scarcity represents a brutal reality.

“The philosophy of Fidesz governance was that this issue did not need to be addressed,” he said, adding that Fidesz and KDNP had misled even their own voters.

Péter Magyar continued by saying that the regime change of 12 April had come at the last possible moment — indeed past the last moment — with regard to water management and climate protection as well. He indicated that they considered it important for environmental protection to have its own independent ministry, led by László Gajdos.

He recalled that ahead of the new government’s first session, they had addressed the issues of drought and water retention at Ópusztaszer, having begun work “from the very first minute” — and not without results.

This August, 28 percent more water is being retained in Hungary than a year ago. While 523 million cubic metres of water were stored at this time last year, this year 669 million cubic metres are being held in the landscape — he noted, describing this as a small step.

Péter Magyar also spoke about the fact that, still this year, the environmental authority operating under the strictest conditions in Europe will begin its work.

He recalled that, due to daily average temperatures, a third-level heat alert had to be issued again after June, and that the dry summer had driven the water level of the Danube to an unprecedented low that was already threatening the operation of the Paks nuclear power plant. When it became necessary, a defence working group was immediately formed, which — “in contrast to the earlier sham or operetta-style task forces” — drew on the expertise needed from every relevant field, he said.

He assessed that it had become clear from the very start of the crisis that “the previous decades’ token measures, government by decree, and operetta-style politicking in various states of emergency” had produced no real results, and that the crisis threatening the country’s energy and water networks had caught the state administration almost entirely unprepared.

He elaborated that in crisis management, the first and most important task had been to preserve nuclear safety, and there was no cause for concern in that regard going forward. The second task, he pointed out, was to avoid a so-called blackout — a potential collapse of the energy grid. He stressed that the continuous and safe operation of the grid had been ensured and would remain so in the period ahead.

The Prime Minister elaborated that thanks to the immediate adoption of the necessary legislation and clear, honest communication that treated people and companies as partners, Hungary had pulled together, and during the critical period consumption had fallen by nearly 10 percent compared to projections, making it possible to preserve the stability of the energy system.

He touched on the fact that the Paks plant had not had to be completely shut down so far — one turbine was still generating power — and that the reconnection of the third turbine in the second unit was currently under way, meaning that by evening two turbines were expected to be producing electricity. However, based on meteorological forecasts, virtually no rainfall was expected over the next ten days, so following a temporary rise, a further drop in water levels was to be anticipated, he said.

Péter Magyar said that the plant’s employees were continuously working on solutions that would allow at least partial operation to be maintained.

Péter Magyar said that exactly how much final damage the extraordinary circumstances of recent weeks and the unprecedented drought will cause to the economy — and within that, to the agricultural sector — may only be accurately estimated in the coming weeks, but it is already clear that frost and drought damage in the agricultural sector alone amounts to several hundred billion forints.

The prime minister stressed that the entire state administration needs to be rebuilt, as Hungary is not prepared for crises of this kind.

He reported that the Paks nuclear power plant had no safety plan for such low water levels, despite the fact that a water level of -98 centimetres had already been recorded in 2018. The first turbine had to be shut down at a water level of -107 centimetres, he said, adding that there was also no plan setting out who would be responsible for what in the event of a nationwide power outage.

The prime minister accused the previous government of having taken no steps in recent years to prevent the economic and energy-related consequences of similar crises. Solar power plants were built without the necessary storage capacity, the construction of wind turbines was banned, while 1,000 billion forints of public money was spent on Paks II. The latter should already be operational, but currently only two large concrete basins have been completed, and during the planning process no consideration was given to what water levels would be required for cooling if the two plants were operated simultaneously, Péter Magyar noted.

According to the prime minister, water management and energy policy have been marked by decades of backwardness and inaction on the part of governments in recent years. He argued that, lacking sufficient political courage, debates on these topics were never dared to be held, and that the issue of artificial water retention has been a taboo subject above all since Bős-Nagymaros.

He stressed that, just as with the question of secret service files, the taboos surrounding water retention and nuclear energy also need to be put to rest, and that an open, honest conversation is necessary. For this reason, he called for these issues to receive adequate emphasis in the constitutional process and public dialogue beginning this autumn, and for the right to water, energy, and a sustainable environment to be precisely defined.

Péter Magyar emphasized that the government is counting on every Hungarian both in the defence efforts that may be needed in the coming days and in finding good long-term solutions together.

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