Orbán hid half of Hungary’s budget deficit, new PM says

{"text":[[{"start":7.3,"text":"Hungary’s new prime minister has accused Viktor Orbán’s former government of hiding a budget deficit that would have topped 8 per cent of GDP this year — more than double the declared target."}],[{"start":19.3,"text":"Péter Magyar said on Monday that Orbán’s public deficit targets for 2026 — first 3.7 per cent of GDP, then 5 per cent — bore little relation to the figures found by his government since taking office six weeks ago. Orbán’s own officials had assumed a 6.8 per cent shortfall, Magyar said, while new audits showed the deficit would have exceeded 8 per cent without a recent deal unlocking frozen EU funds."}],[{"start":46.75,"text":"“They lied to Hungarians,” Magyar said in a Facebook video. “The budget deficit figures that the Orbán government publicly claimed, those contained in official documents, and what we are now seeing bear no resemblance to one another.”"}],[{"start":61.5,"text":"Magyar swept Orbán from power in April on a promise to curb corruption, restore Hungary’s standing in the EU and eventually adopt the euro, whose rules require a budget deficit below 3 per cent of GDP. "}],[{"start":74.85,"text":"Since taking office, the new premier has rushed through anti-corruption and pro-EU measures, including joining the bloc’s public prosecutors’ office and strengthening domestic anti-graft institutions."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":86.8,"text":"Magyar’s portrayal of the public finances may also give him political cover to scale back or delay spending pledges on healthcare and education."}],[{"start":95.8,"text":"Orbán maintained tight fiscal discipline during much of his premiership but struggled to regain control after the pandemic. Hungary’s deficit has hovered about 6 to 7 per cent of GDP in recent years, before his statistics office reported a fall to 4.7 per cent last year."}],[{"start":113.8,"text":"Finance minister András Kármán last week called the deficit “the toughest challenge” on Hungary’s euro path. He said he would present a modified 2026 budget by the end of August."}],[{"start":124.39999999999999,"text":"Orbán, his former finance minister and the Hungarian statistics office did not immediately respond to requests for comment."}],[{"start":132.04999999999998,"text":"Markets have welcomed Magyar’s election victory. The forint has risen about 15 per cent against the euro over the past year, with most of the gains coming since April, while Hungary’s 10-year government bond yields have fallen below regional peer Poland’s and are within half a percentage point of those of the UK."}],[{"start":149.85,"text":"The stronger currency and lower borrowing costs could ease pressure on the budget by reducing debt servicing and import costs. But a deficit above 7 per cent means Hungary’s ambition to adopt the euro will require years of fiscal tightening."}],[{"start":166.54999999999998,"text":"Dávid Németh, an economist at KBC Bank Hungary, said he expected a gradual path towards joining the euro’s waiting room, ERM-II, with the deficit falling below 3 per cent only by the end of the decade."}],[{"start":180.99999999999997,"text":"“The prime minister confirmed that the previous government’s 5 per cent deficit target was unrealistic,” he said. “I expect a slow and gradual reduction, with the figure edging just below 3 per cent by 2030.”"}],[{"start":200.89999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782799842_7719.mp3"}