“This cabinet will go down in history as one which lowered taxes”, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány said in an assessment of the year since his election victory before regular business in Parliament yesterday afternoon.Gyurcsány claimed that “by 2010, tax burdens will be Ft 37 of every Ft 100, the lowest since the change of regime.” He also enthused about the ongoing reforms to improve quality and performance in health care, public administration and education.
Gyurcsány was critical of the opposition for “doing nothing other than trying to topple the government,” but said “the attempt has failed and the opposition should make itself useful and devise an agenda, but is too cowardly, as it may turn out that it has nothing to offer. No one can accuse the government of lacking a vision of the future, nor can it be linked to anti-Semitism or flirting with the radical opposition,” he remarked.
Opposition speakers responded that “if the prime minister believes his own propaganda, then he is both intellectually and mentally unfit for his post.” Fidesz caucus leader Tibor Navracsics and Christian Democrat leader Zsolt Semjén drew attention to Hungary’s failure to adopt the euro and the fact that economic growth has slowed to 2.7%.
Navracsics said “only war-ravaged Lebanon has a higher public finance deficit than Hungary, and state debt has risen from 52% of GDP in 2002 to 70.1%. What is your vision of the future? Come on Feri, this is a bleak vision, don’t you think?” he asked.
Gyurcsány responded that he found Semjén’s contribution “unworthy of a Christian and a normal adult.”
Source: Hungary Around the Clock.
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12.06.2007