Hungary shuts down nuclear plant amid heatwave, water crisis

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced the temporary shutdown of the Paks nuclear power plant, citing the ongoing extreme heatwave and resulting water restrictions across the country. Hundreds of settlements have implemented various levels of water limitations, with many facing outright bans on watering.

Orbán stated that while drinking water supply remains largely uninterrupted, authorities are deploying military water tankers and distributing bottled water to affected areas where necessary. Notably, in a shift from previous communications, the Prime Minister avoided directly blaming the previous government for the current difficulties, refraining from criticizing Fidesz or Orbán himself.

The Prime Minister has accepted an invitation to brief the President, parliamentary faction leaders, and parliamentary leaders on Monday at the Sándor Palace. The briefing will cover the Paks plant shutdown and the broader situation arising from the severe heat. Orbán emphasized the need for national unity among all societal and political actors to navigate the crisis, though he did allude to the inevitability of identifying past failures and their perpetrators from recent decades.

He also mentioned that the government is working to address the "omissions of recent decades and name those responsible." This statement suggests a potential shift in political rhetoric, moving towards accountability for past governance issues, even as the immediate focus is on managing the current environmental and energy crisis.

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