"Enough of the economic and financial dilettantism of Orban and co," he said in a statement.

"Almost every day in the past months, data on the Hungarian economy and budget have been catastrophic," he said.

"Orban's flying start was so successful that the government accumulated 42 percent of the annual budget deficit in the first two months of 2025, and Hungary is again leading Europe when it comes to food price inflation," he added.

Magyar said Hungarians had been cut off from EU resources they were entitled to, "due to the industrial-scale corruption of Orban and company".

"Investments are in free fall, the Hungarian economy is drying out, and Hungarian companies are fighting for survival."

He insisted that Nagy "is yanking the steering wheel this way and that, threatening various economic sectors, dragging down the entire Hungarian economy and pushing Hungarians deeper and deeper into a cost-of-living crisis".

Magyar called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban to "gather all his courage and fire Marton Nagy ... or leave with him hand in hand".

Tisza: Food prices inflation 'highest' in Hungary

The leader of the opposition Tisza Party has slammed the government for the high food price inflation in Hungary.

Peter Magyar said "food prices have gone up again by 7 percent ... while they lied that they had eliminated inflation". He insisted that pensions had been raised by an average 3,000 forints a month (EUR 7.5), which "does not even cover a quarter of the increase in prices".

Should Tisza win power at next year's election, the party would ensure a supplementary pension rise and would reduce the price of "healthy food products" and firewood to 5 percent, Magyar said in a statement.

He pledged further measures to help seniors access "decent conditions and improved health services".

Price stability 'top priority' of central bank - governor

The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) needs to concentrate on achieving and maintaining price stability amid the current economic circumstances, Mihaly Varga, the central bank governor, said at a year-opener of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK).

Varga said the the NBH could most efficiently contribute to reaching macroeconomic targets by achieving price stability and maintaining financial market stability.

He affirmed the central bank's commitment to achieving and maintaining the inflation target.

Varga noted increasing uncertainty surrounding external macroeconomic factors and pointed to the need for disciplined, patient monetary policy. The central bank is following closely external and internal trends, as well as risks surrounding outlooks, he added.

Varga acknowledged that Hungary's economic balance had improved in spite of the unpredictable international environment, and that the financial system was stable and growth outlooks favourable.

He said signs of latent inflation warranted caution, adding that prices of market services, as well as food and fuel prices, had contributed to the increase in CPI since September.

He said the central bank, the government, the banking association and the competition watchdog needed to work together to scrutinise persistently high price dynamics of market services, adding that the NBH would soon make recommendations regarding the matter.

Varga said the Hungarian economy was supported by a broad footing and highlighted data showing high employment, real wage growth, increasing consumption, high household savings and an improvement in growth outlooks. He added that consumption and investments would be the engine of economic growth and that outlooks for higher corporate investments were favourable.

Varga said businesses faced three risks: uncertainty surrounding demand, inflation fears and administrative burdens.

Maintaining price stability can contribute to an improvement in consumer confidence, a predictable investment environment and an economic upturn, he added.

General govt deficit reaches HUF 1,722.8bn in February

Hungary's cash flow-based general government deficit reached HUF 1,722.8bn at the end of February, the National Economy Ministry said in a preliminary release of data.

The central budget had a deficit of HUF 1,683.5bn at the end of the month and the social security funds were HUF 77.3bn in the red, but separate state funds had a HUF 38.0bn surplus.

The deficit widened from HUF 67.8bn at the end of January.

The ministry attributed the gap to one-offs, pointing to VAT rebate seasonality that resulted in net VAT revenue of just HUF 318.5bn, 4pc of the full-year target, as well as a HUF 536bn expenditure for pensioners' annual bonus, paid in February.

The ministry said that revenue from tax and contributions had climbed 13.5pc from the same period a year earlier.

Interest expenditures, first of all for interest payments on retail government securities, came to HUF 1,038.3bn, up HUF 182.9bn from the base period.

Lawmakers could vote on 2026 budget in June

Lawmakers could take the final vote on the government's 2026 budget bill around June 15, National Economy Minister Marton Nagy said in a video posted on social media.

Nagy said the bill would be submitted to the Fiscal Council for evaluation around April 20.

He added that the bill would target a 3.5pc-of-GDP fiscal deficit.

Nagy said the 2026 budget calculated with the continuation of the regulated utilities price scheme for households, the annual pensioners' bonus, personal income tax exemptions for mothers of three as well as mothers of two under 40, and VAT rebates on some staples for pensioners.

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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