欧尔班称匈牙利 4 月大选后无需实施财政紧缩政策

Core Viewpoint - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that even if his party wins the April elections, there will be no need for fiscal tightening to control the budget deficit, as his party will continue its core fiscal spending policies [2][6]. Economic Context - Orbán has been in power since 2010 and is currently facing the most severe economic challenges of his tenure, with Hungary's economy nearly stagnating since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and high inflation in Central and Eastern Europe [2][6]. - Economists suggest that regardless of which party wins the April 12 elections, the new government will have no choice but to tighten fiscal spending due to large-scale fiscal expenditures before the elections [2][6]. Fiscal Policy - In response to economists' assessments, Orbán claimed that the economic situation in Hungary does not require any form of fiscal tightening, labeling the economists' views as "complete lies" [2][6]. - Last year, to accommodate pre-election fiscal spending, Orbán's government raised the budget deficit target, setting it at 5% for both the 2025 and 2026 election years, which led to Fitch Ratings downgrading Hungary's debt outlook to negative [2][6]. Future Plans - Orbán emphasized that if re-elected, the government will maintain a 3% preferential mortgage interest rate policy and plans to exempt personal income tax for mothers of two children during the next government term [3][7]. - To counter the challenge from the center-right opposition party, the Fidesz government has introduced two fiscal measures: a 100 billion forint (approximately 3.1 billion USD) support plan for the restaurant industry and a 50 billion forint (approximately 1.6 billion USD) relief measure for household heating costs [3][7]. Economic Performance - Recent data revealed that Hungary's economy has been nearly stagnant for the third consecutive year, underperforming compared to neighboring countries like Poland and the Czech Republic [3][7]. - Due to the poor economic data, some analysts have downgraded Hungary's economic growth forecast for 2026 [3][7].