Budapest, December 8 (MTI) – Fidesz lawmakers support a proposal flagged by a district mayor to conduct mandatory drug tests for youth, politicians and journalists, with “strong refinements”, Antal Rogan, head of the Fidesz parliamentary group, said today.
Fidesz politician Mate Kocsis proposed at the weekend for all youth aged 12 to 18, politicians and journalists to take annual drug tests.
Rogan told a press conference the drug test would help fight the drug trade. The most important change Fidesz lawmakers propose to the bill is that parents of minors would be informed about the result of the test, which would not be coupled with any legal consequences.
Regarding tests for politicians and journalists, the party’s legal spokesman Gergely Gulyas will consult the justice ministry on legal feasibility.
Members of the youth chapter of opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) party on Monday submitted urine samples to the 8th district local council in protest of the proposal.
The opposition Socialists’ deputy group leader said it was a “mad” idea to introduce the drug test and called on the ruling parties to “take their dirty hands off our children”. Zoltan Lukacs told a press conference that carrying out the tests would cost more than 40 billion forints, yet only 100 million forints are allocated in next year’s budget for drug prevention. Lukacs described the plan as “a kind of psychosis”.
Photo: MTI – Lajos Soós