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PM Orbán says public administration has "no other legitimacy" than the service of the people and country

PM Orbán said the Hungarian State and those administering its operation must at all times function in such a way that “the state should preserve us as we are; as we also said in the election campaign, to preserve Hungary as a Hungarian country”

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that public administration has "no other legitimacy" and "no other yardstick" than the service of the people and country.

During a ceremony held for handing over the appointment deeds of the heads of government offices in the Parliament Building on Tuesday, the prime minister said mid-level public administration is the most efficiently functioning unit of the Hungarian State.

“We expect the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office to also raise central public administration to that level so that we can say that this difference will disappear in the next few years," he said.

He added that in mid-level public administration they had introduced a career model system, but they are also planning to raise the salaries of those working in central public administration.

The prime minister also highlighted that in 2010 the goal was to reconsider the role of the Hungarian State.

“We wanted a state which enables us – all at once – to protect the sovereignty of the country (…) and to allow the Hungarian people to live in a free country," he said. To this end they had to renew the entire legal system, they had to strengthen public security and they had to transform public administration, he said.

The prime minister said he does not claim that the district system is in a perfect state as he is not convinced that the number of district offices and centers is optimal. In his words, the next four years will perhaps be a good time to reconsider this question.

PM Orbán said the Hungarian State and those administering its operation must at all times function in such a way that “the state should preserve us as we are; as we also said in the election campaign, to preserve Hungary as a Hungarian country”.