Ságvári Ágnes (szerk.): Budapest. The History of a Capital (Budapest, 1975)
Documents
parties and persons, circumvents the interests and the will of the enfranchised citizens by means of miserable, obnoxious, outmoded and empty chicanery. ... Pesti levéltár [Archives of the City of Budapest], Minutes of General Assembly, February 7th, 1930. XX The Budapest opposition on the economic crisis and city management Excerpt from the proposal of councillor Károly Peyer October 2nd, 1931 At the extraordinary General Assembly held on September 30th, 1931, the Municipal Board of Budapest came to the conclusion that the economic crisis existing in Hungary calls for special measures in the economic management of the state and the capital. In addition to the world crisis, the causes of this economic crisis are to be principally found in the political and economic system in force in Hungary for the last twelve years. This system has paralysed the exercise of constitutional liberties, and only for this reason and in absence of any freedom of press has this dictatorship, under the guise of a parliamentary regime, been able to subject the life of the working people at the mercies of the host of exploiting cartels: only for this reason, during the ten years of rule by the Bethlen Government, have many hundreds of million pengős been spent without parliamentary sanction on totally unnecessary expenditures. Only for this reason has money been spent from the budget, without the knowledge of the public, the costs of which have now to be paid by the poverty-stricken working classes. The policy engendered by this wasteful and criminally bankrupt system has gone so far that they now plan to reduce salaries, mainly of the underpaid clerks and employees. It was this government policy that enabled huge incomes to be paid by the state and the capital alike, and it was the municipal supporters of this system, of this policy of the Christian and united parties, who mismanaged the economy of the capital to the point where there is now a deficit of about 30 million pengős in the final accounts. The city leadership is guilty of gross negligence in failing to undertake an energetic campaign to prevent the new legislation that is slowly destroying the life of the municipality, and in yielding to government instructions which have led to expenditure on the part of the municipality amounting to waste and improvidence. In view of these things, the Municipal Board hereby passes a vote of no confidence in the chief burgomaster, the representative of government policies and in the mayor, the head of the city administration, and demands that Ferenc Ripka and Jenő Sipőcz resign their leading posts. The General Assembly herewith resolves to make representations to the government for the speedy enactment of a law for universal, equal and secret suffrage, for the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of new elections. The blighting effect on the life of the municipality created by Act XVIII of 1930 makes it imperative for the Municipal Board to make such representations to the Hungarian Royal Government and Parliament for the repeal of this Act. The municipality likewise submits a representation to the Hungarian Royal Government to grant unemployment
