Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is proposing a “peace budget” for next year, which would also require a cabinet reshuffle, he said in a social media post on Sunday.
Sharing a part of his keynote speech at Kötcse, where conservatives meet in the Hungarian countryside to mark the traditional opening of the autumn political season in Hungary, Orbán said:
“We have the action plan. It hasn’t been presented (yet), it’s not announced, it’s not yet under political work, but we refer to it as the peace budget, which is already in the desk drawer,” he said.
“At the heart of this peace budget or action plan is putting economic growth in the 3-5 percent range by 2025. We need to do a budget that can deliver 3-5 percent growth while maintaining fiscal balance, which is necessary because of the credit rating agencies and the financial global crisis. That is the basis of everything, and I think we can do that,” he continued.
Orbán also mentioned Central Bank Governor György Matolcsy, who last week sharply criticized the government’s economic policy, blaming them for the spike in inflation last year, which he said was a result of the government hitting the acceleration while the central bank was “slamming on the brakes.”
In his post, Orbán foreshadowed higher wages, increased family tax rebates and a cabinet reshuffle required for the change in economic policy.
“We need an Erhard, who was formerly György Matolcsy until he left to become the central bank governor. This person needs to be the top economic minister, who is in charge of both economic and fiscal instruments and who can lead this action program,” he said.
By Erhard, Orbán was referring to former CDU politician Ludwig Erhard, who was the economics minister of Konrad Adenauer from 1963 to 1966 and is largely credited for the post-war economic upswing of West Germany.
