During his regular slot on Kossuth Radio this morning, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said this is not the first crisis he has seen, but he felt it important to lead this one personally. In this crisis, no Hungarian can be left alone. So he, as prime minister, must take on the role as leader in person and prove that the state is loyal to the people.
PM Orbán said that he is constantly monitoring the procurement of medical equipment. While the air bridge is operational and Hungary will have enough equipment for several months, there is no true safety without your own means of production. This epidemic has been a valuable lesson that Hungary must be able to produce its own ventilator and be able to rely on itself during a crisis. So we are now carrying out our own production of equipment as well, or preparing to do so.
Regarding the economy, both April and May data are expected to be bad, while summer data is expected to improve. “We are going through a difficult period,” he added. “The reason behind this is job losses. We must create as many jobs as the virus destroys,” he stated.
“We already discussed job creation programs at Wednesday's government meeting. We are ready to hire 200,000 public employees, the army has started recruiting, and state-owned companies can hire workers on a temporary basis. There are about 160,000 Hungarians who have lost their jobs and need help. It is the duty of the government to give these people jobs,” the PM pointed out.
Speaking on the need for investments and developments, PM Orbán said these are the only way to create jobs. Hungarians need direct assistance to develop their companies, which is why the government is providing development loans, wage subsidies and development funds worth trillions of forints, he added. We are building a work-based economy, the prime minister said. This is the mindset that pulled us out of trouble after 2010, and now it will help us once again.
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