Hungary is pursuing a responsible economic policy and it would be a big mistake to reverse the government’s crisis-management measures, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told local papers.
In interviews published by several local papers on Friday, Bajnai said he considered it doubtful that main opposition Fidesz would reverse any of the government’s austerity measures, knowing that doing so would cause enormous harm to the economy.
Bajnai said that were Fidesz to act on its current rhetoric — it has promised to restore various spending items and programmes axed by the Socialist government — the budget deficit would rise to 6 percent of gross domestic product this year and hit 10 percent in 2010.
“The country would become impossible to finance. I don’t think they are thinking about this seriously; it’s just a kind of campaign message,” he said.
Hungary’s economy is expected to contract by over 6 percent this year before averaging zero growth in 2010. The government is making a cautious attempt to return the country’s financing to the international bond market in order to wean it off IMF-led financing.
Fidesz, way ahead in the polls, is preparing for a possible early election. Several Socialist and liberal MPs have indicated their desire for next year’s budget vote and parliamentary elections to be brought forward from spring 2010.
