Parliament set aside one day to debate the activities of the Orbán government in its first two years in office.

Representing the Government, Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics said in his opening speech that in 2010 the Government had entered office in the midst of an economic crisis, a crisis of confidence, and an institutional crisis. Thanks to the Government’s work so far, however, the country will be in an economically stronger position in 2014 than it was in 2010. Government debt and the budget deficit have decreased, more people have the chance to work, social security for the general population is now stronger than it was, and the country is becoming increasingly competitive.

Mr. Navracsics said that two years ago the country was hit by a triple crisis, which all but destroyed its financial reserves and political confidence, and which led to an institutional crisis. By the spring of 2010 the system of compromises developed as part of the political transition of 1989-1990 had ceased to function. The economic growth experienced before 2002 went into decline, and after 2004 turned towards recession. Financial reserves fell alarmingly and the then government was unable to return the economy to the path of growth.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that although the European economic crisis only began in 2008, in Hungary it had begun in 2006, and so the European crisis found Hungary in an already weakened condition and affected it much deeper than it did other, more stable, countries. Mr. Navracsics said that by spring 2010 Hungary not only had an economic crisis, but also a crisis of confidence and morals. He mentioned how people had lost confidence in politics and no longer believed that it served the common good, as a result of the outrageous ‘Balatonőszöd’ speech by former socialist prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, in which he admitted to a campaign of deception aimed at the electorate and the EU. The Deputy Prime Minister also said that the situation was worsened by an institutional crisis, when the Socialist-Liberal coalition disintegrated in 2008, leaving a minority government in power. The crisis deepened with the fall of the Gyurcsány government in 2009.

The general loss of moral credibility made it clear that the institutional traditions formulated in 1989-1990 could not continue, and so the Orbán government opened a new chapter with its election in 2010. It created fiscal stability to deal with the economic crisis, and started to tackle the social crisis as well. The Government enacted a series of far-reaching measures to increase economic competitiveness.

In connection with reducing government debt, Mr. Navracsics pointed out that now there are only two countries in Europe where this has actually happened recently, and one of them is Hungary. Government debt has been reduced by three per cent, and Hungary has every chance of reducing its budget deficit in 2012 by as much as almost anywhere else in Europe. Reforms are being rewarded by foreign capital, he said, referring to the fact that the amount of this is increasing. In a recent international ranking of competitiveness, Hungary has outperformed the other Visegrád Four countries, he said.

In addition, several measures have been taken to increase the social security of a general population which had previously been subjected to a series of crippling austerity measures. The tax burden on families has now been reduced by 3.9%, and HUF 385bn has been returned to taxpayers, as a result of the new personal income tax scheme.

The Deputy Prime Minister mentioned that, whenever possible, the Government turns to the people to seek their opinion through national consultations, and he described this as a step intended to eliminate the crisis of confidence which existed under the previous administration.

Mr. Navracsics said that the new Fundamental Law – on which several Cardinal Acts have been based – was a response to the institutional crisis.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that, despite the challenges encountered, Hungary’s EU presidency was a great success, and he thanked those who contributed to this.

He highlighted government measures aiming to create an economy based on work. Mr. Navracsics said that between 2006 and 2010, the number of those officially unemployed had increased by 50,000 (and by 7,000 in the under-25 age bracket), government debt had increased by 7 per cent, and Hungary’s budget deficit was a source of national shame. In contrast, the last two years have seen the number of people in employment increasing by 68,000 – 15,000 of these being under 25.

‘I am not saying that the Government has done a perfect job. We have made many mistakes, because we set out to complete a great many tasks, and because between 2010 and 2012 we had to take emergency action,’ he said.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)