In the parliamentary debate on the proposal, Erik Bánki of ruling Fidesz said the budget aimed to help all Hungarians benefit from the country’s progress.
After launching a comprehensive economic protection plan in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Hungary has a good chance of becoming a “winner of the post-pandemic era”, he said. The protection of families and entrepreneurs, the support of investments creating jobs, as well as of health care and education, will give the economy new momentum, he said.
Jobbik lawmaker Anita Potocska Kőrösi branded the government’s submission as an “election budget”. Jobbik MP Dániel Z Kárpát said the draft would result in “the most cruel budget in Europe” which ignored entire social groups. He said the government was presiding over a “social catastrophe”, and he denigrated “the high VAT on basic foodstuffs”. He also said the details of major spending items had been omitted from the draft.
Bertalan Tóth, the leader of the Socialist Party, lambasted the budget as “a budget to bolster the Fidesz economy” and “a revenge budget”. The budget should build the country and help the people rather than “taking revenge on them”, he said. “Taxpayers’ money should not be spent on useless things so only the privileged one percent benefits,” he said. Socialist lawmaker Attila Mesterházy said the budget was “also a choice of values”. The government gives to those who’ve already accumulated wealth rather than helping those with very little lobbying power, he said.
The Democratic Coalition (DK) said the budget was about “chasing pipedreams”. Lawmaker László Varju insisted the government’s estimate of next year’s growth was too high, while it failed to meaningfully reduce the deficit. He called the budget “a political and PR budget focused on power and next year’s elections, and on the interests of [Fidesz] loyalists.”
hungarymatters.hu
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