On another subject, Kövér acknowledged critical remarks concerning public education, and said that “the system should have consolidated by now”.

He admitted that the government has not been able to handle the “problems obvious for years”. He added that “now the time has come for the obstacles to regular operations to be removed”.

He said, however, that schools should not be returned to local governments because the earlier system was “not viable” and insisted that state control over the curriculum should be maintained.

Kövér said he supported reducing the burden on teachers, but added that “nobody should expect public education to be free of all control or instructions”. He warned that teachers are not “independent entrepreneurs” but “labourers of the nation”.

The government expects “more discipline and work” in return for “the all-time largest pay hike for teachers”, he insisted.

Concerning a recent incident at the National Election Office, in which a group of thugs allegedly prevented Socialist deputies from submitting a referendum initiative, Kövér said there were “different interpretations” of those developments.

He suggested that the referendum law should be changed to prevent “scenes unfit for a democracy”.

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MTI photo: Komka Péter