mszp.hu
28/03/2022 09:09

Socialists Inquire about Government's Secret Austerity Plans

Socialists Inquire about Government's Secret Austerity Plans
MSZP is asking about the details of Fidesz's secret austerity plan in the wake of recent statements by Finance Minister Mihály Varga, and because Orbán has "gone back to the European Commission to beg for EU subsidies."

All this, combined with the "super weak" forint exchange rate, the "brutal" state budget deficit, accelerating inflation and the Hungarian National Banks's (MNB) 10% inflation forecast for this year, "means that Fidesz (and Hungary because of Fidesz) is in trouble", Socialist co-president Bertalan Tóth wrote on Facebook.

He therefore put written questions to the Ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Agriculture, Defence, Justice, Innovation and Technology, Human Capacities and the Minister without Portfolio for the Management of National Assets:
What scale of austerity is planned?

To what extent are the cuts proposed to affect Hungarian families, local governments and the areas affected by the Ministry?

Are there likely to be any staff cuts in the Ministry or in the central public administration and its back offices as a result of the cuts proposed?

Bertalan Tóth writes that EU funds would be needed to tackle the problems caused by the Fidesz government, but as the EU is not willing to continue paying for the "enrichment of thieves", Fidesz has no choice but to implement the budget adjustment projected by Varga, "which means that Fidesz is secretly preparing for austerity after the elections."

"This could include the withdrawal of the 13th month pension, the 700 forint petrol, no increase in family allowances, deflation of wages and pensions, a drop in real wages, brutal food price rises, a drastic rise in interest rates on loans, state subsidies would be devalued, local governments would be further extorted and - for example, with the MVM group - the remaining national assets would be privatised", writes the MSZP co-president, justifying his questions by saying: everyone has the right to know what cuts Fidesz plans to make if it remains in power.

"It is in Hungary's interest that the corrupt, unscrupulous and inhuman Fidesz government fall, because they are no longer capable of handling the economic crisis they themselves have caused," he adds.

The united opposition, on the other hand, will join Hungary to the European Public Prosecutor's Office, restore the rule of law and call for the EU aid worth 1.5 million forints per each Hungarian...

"Thus, in contrast to Fidesz's secret austerity plan, there will be money to strengthen and develop education, health care and social services, to converge low salaries and pensions, and to tackle the housing crisis", Bertalan Tóth writes.

According to press reports, the finance minister said at a campaign event on Monday that the Russian-Ukrainian war had made the Central and Eastern European region a much riskier region for Europe, which was reflected in the perception of investment, the exchange rate of regional currencies and the rise in interest rates.

Before the war, economic growth for this year was expected to be well above 5 percent, but now plans need to be rewritten, which they wish to wait with until after the election; after that, Varga said the first and most important step was to adjust Hungarian public finances to the economic difficulties and damage caused by the war.