The New York Times – Hungary: Where they spend more on stadiums than hospitals

“In Hungary, Viktor Orbán showers money on stadiums, less so on hospitals”. This is the title of the article that appeared on Hungary in The New York Times’ Saturday issue.  

As reported by napi.hu, Patrick Kingsley and Benjamin Novak begin their article by providing an overview of the village of Felcsút; here, 20 meters from the Viktor Orbán’s house, stands a 3,500 seater stadium, whereas in the county’s biggest hospital the women’s restroom does not have soap. All the while, there are only two doctors on duty attending the needs of incoming patients and there are lines of people waiting to be treated after midnight.

The piece mentions the exodus of doctors Hungary has been facing since 2010. Instead of pumping vital funds into the health care sector, the government is running a programme which encourages companies to invest into Hungarian sports institutions – both domestic and foreign – as a form of tax break.

Despite increasing doctors’ salaries nationwide, it is still a fraction of what they can earn in other parts of Europe.  Orbán’s regime has eliminated the health ministry, implying his plan to privatise the sector in the future. The government are also unwilling to release data on infection incidents in hospitals, as it would “spread panic”.

The article is very critical of Orbán’s administration and accuses the government of widespread corruption.

As an example, the writers highlight that Hungary’s chief prosecutor Dr. Péter Polt can often be seen watching games at the Pancho Arena with the prime minister. The government’s allocation of funds to the health care sector is not set to increase soon.

This week we reported that Orbán has moved to the Castle District. A German politician has called for the Hungarian government to decide if they want to be part of the EU or not.