Opposition: Orbán’s economic, social policies failed

Mate Kanasz-Nagy, introducing himself as spokesman on social affairs in the shadow government of prime ministerial candidate Peter Marki-Zay, said that inflation was sky-rocketing, social inequalities were “set loose” and poverty was increasing.

If the opposition forms the next government, family allowances will be increased, a subsidised rental housing scheme launched and people caring for relatives living with disabilities no longer neglected, he said.

Andras Jambor, a candidate of Parbeszed and the opposition alliance for next year’s election, said that Hungary had been suffering from a housing crisis for over a decade.

He said the government had cancelled the only large-scale accommodation project, dubbed Student City, and instead plans “to bring in a Chinese private university which will drive the country to indebtedness”. Citing surveys, he said that home prices in Budapest had increased by 10 percent in a year.

Some 62 percent of people aged 18-34 live with their parents, Jambor said. Despite having a full-time job, some 70 percent of Hungarians aged 25-34 and living with their parents cannot afford having their own home, he added.

Once a new government comes to power, he said, a new housing subsidy scheme will be launched, expanded options offered for employers to support accommodation and an advance savings scheme launched for home purchases.

The forced evacuation of tenants who cannot pay back their forex-denominated mortgages will be suspended for an unspecified period of time and a fund set up to compensate those that lost their homes, he said. The family insolvency service will be expanded and support for home maintenance and debt management reintroduced, he added.

Lajos Korozs of the Socialists said that local governments would be once again in charge of offering crisis aid. He promised that once in government, wages for social workers will be raised by 50 percent and the range of home services expanded.