Heatwave and Water Crisis in Budapest

So it's been another hot and steamy day here in Budapest.

We have temperatures of around 40 degrees, perhaps even higher.

The temperature in our apartment is up to 33,

which is honestly pretty unbearable.

More importantly though, the level of the Danube continues to rise.

This means that the Pach nuclear power station

has not been turned off.

One turbine is still running out of the four.

The megawatt production is the same as it was yesterday

and the day before, so around 220 megawatts.

The maximum it can produce is around 2,000.

On the waterfront, though, things are a little bit worse.

500 small towns and villages are receiving bottled water

because effectively their system is entirely out of water.

The water table, of course, is not working.

incredibly low because we've barely had any rain,

and the earliest rain that's forecast is for Fridays.

Otherwise today our Prime Minister, Peter Magyar,

he took a little bit of a trip

and he went to see someone together with

the the head of the Prime Minister's office,

that guy is called Balint Ruff,

and the man they saw is a person called András Baka.

Now he is a former judge, he is an old man,

and I think the reason they went to see him

is because he is going to be the pick.

for Hungarian president and they went to speak to him

to make sure that if they ask him he would say yes.

He comes with anti-Fidesz credentials because he criticized Fidesz in 2009

and was removed from some post in 2012.

But to me he looks like he comes straight from the

Tomáš Sulyok factory of old Hungarian men.

So no doubt he's a clever guy,

no doubt he's a distinguished career,

all that stuff.

But at the end of the day

he's just going to be signing papers,

greeting members of state from other countries

and perhaps opening the odd hospital,

so honestly who cares.

but anyway he's to me he seems like just a president

like we had the last one no change

except this man of course was an anti Fidesz person

proven proven and so he is obviously held in high regard by Tisza

whether or not he'll be any different from Tomáš Suhják

whether or not Hungary would notice any difference I

would be very very surprised and

actually when I was thinking about this

yesterday specifically when it came to light that that Peter Magyar

effectively vetoed or you could say ruled by decree

they always said that about Viktor Orban that he was ruling by decree

but it's very clear now that we have a maybe not ruled by decree,

but a system where if things don't pass Peter Magyar's desk

with a stamp of approval, they simply don't happen.

So yesterday we learned that there was going to

be a new head of state media news.

And he was put forward and proudly announced that

he's going to be the new head.

And then Peter Magyar said, wait, I really don't think so.

And then his contract and his to whom this happened,

you would actually be mistaken.

So just last week,

we had the director general of the office of the national assembly.

That was a man called Jean-Baptiste Divigny.

He was presented as the winner of a tender by Agnes Forsthofer.

After some criticism, including from Ákos Hatházy,

there was a Facebook comment from Péter Magyar,

and that man's career was over.

Then there was the president of the National Tax and Customs Administration,

otherwise known as NAV.

So here, Finance Minister András Kármán announced Csilla Cinege Tamásny.

after professional consultations and amid rapid Facebook criticism,

it's always Facebook isn't it,

and comments from a former NAV whistleblower,

tax office whistleblower,

the decision was reversed.

Then there was the Justice Minister.

This is someone that actually Peter Magyar himself announced.

He announced his brother-in-law, Márton Melitei Barna,

and there was intense criticism over the decision.

She was supposed to be the leading candidate.

the criticism came forward that oh she's just too Christian

from TISA supporters and you can't have that.

Communists always used to say that people are too Christian.

You've got to be afraid of Christianity for some reason.

You shouldn't.

There's a lack of Christianity.

We need more Christianity not less.

Anyway she was withdrawn and in her place came Judith Lannert.

She might have a flag in her bio but

she does have two children and she got the post.

And then there was also the National Collegial Professional Leader

for General Practitioners that was at the health ministry.

Here Zoltan Shors was named as a possible successor

or interim figure and the ministry later reversed course

after reports of a prior later discontinued bribery investigation.

So today's meeting with this old man I think is...

about the job of the president and

to lay the foundation so that this sort of awkward situation

doesn't happen in the future where

people are going to complain because they found out something about him.

If people have found out something about him

I'm sure it's already come to light

and nothing has really come to light.

Otherwise today I took a little bit of a trip

around Budapest to check out some bridges.

The first bridge I went to see was

the green blue of Amsterd with the Gelliard Hill.

and there now because the water levels are so low

you can see remnants of the bridge

that was there before World War two

a bridge that was blown up in a World War two

and here is some footage of that

and then afterwards I went to the Margaret Bridge

to check out how low the Danube is there

and I was shocked

I first came to Budapest 50 years ago

almost maybe a little bit more and

this This is the first time I've ever seen this,

the first time I've ever seen the Danube so low

to the point where this is totally exposed.

And we are here,

beneath the Margaret Bridge.

That's all, if you like my stuff,

give me a like,

give me a share, thanks.