Orbán government's state secretary for water management contradicts Orbán's previous statement

“In terms of the water generated here, we are by no means a water superpower; in fact, we are one of the poorest countries. Actually, while water flows into the country at three different points, it flows out in countless places,” said Zsolt V. Németh, a Fidesz-delegated member of parliament and the previous government’s state secretary for water management, in an interview with 24.hu.

His statement sharply contradicts a previous claim made by Viktor Orbán. In 2023, speaking in Parliament in defense of his government’s plan to build several battery factories—which consume large amounts of water—in Hungary, the former prime minister said that Hungary does not suffer from water shortages, so the operation of these factories would not pose a problem. "There is more water leaving Hungary than entering it. This means we have a surplus, which we are able to use. If we want to, and if necessary, we can transport that water anywhere via the country’s canal system. If needed. Hungary does not suffer from any water shortage today, and if demand increases, we will be able to meet that demand,” he said.

The former Prime Minister’s remarks, along with a statement made by former Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár last December, have returned to the spotlight during the recent heatwave. Last December, while still serving as minister, during his committee hearing in Parliament, Lázár admitted that “the government made a mistake by not building large reservoirs ten years ago,” and instead only constructed reservoirs for aiding flood control, which are not suitable for water retention. Lázár said that “it is madness to let the fresh water flow out,” adding that “there are geographical and natural phenomena which give us cause for grave concern.”

In response to the heat wave of the past few weeks, the low water level of the Danube, and the resulting energy crisis, Fidesz has accused the Tisza government of acting hastily, being unprepared, and being incompetent. János Bóka, the Fidesz faction leader, for example, said that “it has been obvious for weeks” where the Danube’s water levels were headed and that “the current situation would occur,” yet the government failed to prepare for it. According to Bóka, the fact that the power grid is still functioning at all is a result of the achievements of the past 16 years, and in terms of water retention and energy security, Viktor Orbán handed over the country in better condition than he found it in 2010.

24.hu also reached out to Zsolt V. Németh, the former State Secretary for Water Management at the Ministry of Energy on the subject. When asked whether more could have been done on water conservation, V. Németh said:

“There’s always more that can be done, but instead of 300 billion forints (€828 million), doing so would require a budget closer to a thousand billion forints (€2.75 billion).”

According to the former state secretary, they had approximately 330–340 billion forints available for water management, of which roughly 280 billion went toward water retention and increasing the country’s water reserves. V. Németh also noted that last year, Hungary received as much rainfall “as Israel and Botswana, and barely more than Morocco,” and said that “we are one of the poorest countries” in terms of locally generated water resources. According to V. Németh, one of the major problems is that areas where water could naturally accumulate are now occupied by cities and private land. Although under the previous administration's “Water for the Land!” program, farmers were able to offer their floodable land for this purpose,

“if we want to build reservoirs the same way we have been doing, and if we're going to compensate those whose land we flood, then all the money in the world wouldn't be enough to pay for it.”

V. Németh listed several necessary measures which had not been implemented—or had only been implemented partially—in recent years, and welcomed the fact that under the new government, water management had become more coordinated within the Ministry for the Living Environment, led by László Gajdos.

The publication also contacted former Minister of Agriculture István Nagy, who responded to their questions by simply listing the achievements of the previous government, as well as the Kék Bolygó Foundation—founded by former President of Hungary János Áder, and heavily subsidized with public funds—which listed the various conferences on climate change and the film festivals about nature conservation it had supported. János Lázár did not respond to 24.hu’s inquiry.