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Mayor Kovács Gergely faces collapse as party funding crisis deepens
🇭🇺 Hungary /Elections & Politics

Mayor Kovács Gergely faces collapse as party funding crisis deepens

From Magyar Nemzet · () Hungarian

Translated from Hungarian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The ruling party in Budapest's 12th district has lost a confidence vote over plans to close four kindergartens.
  • Local councilors defected from the governing coalition, accusing the mayor of corruption and mismanagement.
  • The mayor, Kovács Gergely, faces pressure as his party struggles to repay a 600 million forint state subsidy after a poor election showing.

Kovács Gergely, the mayor of Budapest's 12th district and leader of the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP), is facing significant political pressure. His administration's plan to close four kindergartens by early 2026 has been met with widespread opposition from parents and educators.

Kovács Gergely is hard to sink any lower. The comments speak for themselves. My condolences to Gábor Vadász and everyone else.

— Barna JuditTisza Party representative in the Budapest Assembly, commenting on Kovács Gergely's political standing.

This opposition has united unlikely allies. Péter Magyar, leader of the Tisza Party, and Steiner Attila, a local Fidesz candidate, have both publicly supported the protestors against the MKKP-led council's "rationalization" plans. The proposal was presented by Deputy Mayor Kocsik Tekla, but the council subsequently withdrew its confidence in her and passed a new motion.

The district's political landscape has been unstable. Two councilors, Visi Piroska and Kocsis Borbála, left the ruling coalition in the summer of 2025. The mayor accused them of fracturing the group, while Visi Piroska cited disagreements over forming a committee to review the previous district leadership's affairs as the primary reason for the split.

My only relief is that he no longer even attends the Budapest Assembly. That's how he represents his constituents.

— Barna JuditTisza Party representative in the Budapest Assembly, criticizing Kovács Gergely's attendance record.

Adding to Gergely's woes, Barna Judit, a Tisza Party representative in the Budapest Assembly, publicly criticized his performance. She noted his absence from assembly meetings, suggesting he was not representing his constituents effectively. This criticism highlights Gergely's declining popularity, exacerbated by his party's failure to reach the 1% threshold in the April elections. This shortfall means they must repay over 600 million forints in state subsidies. The party has initiated a fundraising campaign, but has only collected about 20% of the required amount. The situation is dire, as Gergely and his candidates may have to use their private assets to cover the debt if fundraising efforts fall short.

This is a trap that Russia wants to draw us into.

— Kaja KallasEU foreign affairs commissioner, warning against further discussions on potential Russian mediators.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Magyar Nemzet in Hungarian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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