Austerity in 2013 alone, three years after Fidesz assumed power, was one and a half times the size of measures introduced in 2009, the worst year of the economic crisis, Sándor Burány, head of parliament’s budget committee, said.

In its report released last week, the ÁSZ said measures to improve the central budget’s balance had been implemented every year covered by the audit and had increasingly contributed to improving the balance. Burány said the ÁSZ clearly stated that sectoral taxes, accumulating reserves and spending freezes constituted austerity.

“Now it’s on paper that [prime minister] Viktor Orbán lied continually, and their economic policy has been built on austerity,” he said.

The audit justifies several Socialist criticisms of the past years, Burány said, citing their claim of a lack of impact studies and banks’ shifting of extra tax burdens onto clients.

He said it was “unusual” to see such an honest report published by an institution which is headed by a former lawmaker of the ruling Fidesz party.

Fidesz said in response that the ÁSZ report showed that Hungary today is in a financially stable situation and enjoys sustainable economic growth.

Sándor Burány, as financial state secretary under the previous Gyurcsány-Bajnai government, had been responsible for doubling the country’s state debt, for the IMF loans and the EU’s excessive deficit procedure against Hungary, Fidesz said, adding that Hungary’s budget has been stable since 2010, the deficit is below 3% of GDP and the IMF loan taken out by the Socialists has been fully paid back.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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