Opposition to turn to Constitutional Court over law on foundations

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 opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), Jobbik, LMP, Momentum, Socialist and Parbeszed parties have asked the court to annul the law and they called on the government to “stop ransacking the country”.

The statement called it “unacceptable that the Orban government, fearing an election defeat in 2022, is handing public funds to its strawmen.”

Regarding the government’s argument that universities would enjoy greater autonomy in the new system while their financial independence would remain guaranteed, the statement noted that the “best universities in Europe are state-owned”. “This is nothing other than a money and power grab,” it said.

The parties pledged to “return public funds to the people after the change of government in 2022, should the Constitutional Court prove again that they are mere puppets of the powers that be.”