With news about impending state default proliferating, the government has finally abandoned its stubborn refusal to talk to the IMF. For the time being, this has soothed markets and analysts alike, who were all concerned that by wedding itself to its anti-IMF stance, Fidesz would be unable to make this tough call even when it would offer the only w...

Hungary is headed for an extremely tough year when neither the budget nor GDP will likely meet the government’s already significantly reduced projections. Orbán and Fidesz insist that everything is all right, but their dogged refusal to acknowledge reality only serves to stoke fears that they are not on top of things.

Fidesz set out to turn Hungary into a low and simple tax country. Realising one of its central campaign promises, it introduced a flat income tax early in its term. With the reality of the declining economy and the budget crunch setting in, however, both low and simple are out the window.

Well-attended as civil rallies may be, in the long-run Fidesz can only be defeated at the ballot box. One of the prominent organisations behind the street demonstrations, 4K!, has drawn the appropriate conclusion and is turning into a political party. Others may follow.

Debt was one of the major issues this week, with several online publications pointing out that despite the government’s insistence that victories have been achieved on the debt-reduction front, the real numbers look disquieting. In major part due to the forint’s deprecation, the budget’s net total debt was at an all time high in September, official...

In Part II of our electoral law analysis we take a look at the more technical aspects of the new election law, analysing how changes to electoral system will affect seat distribution, voting behaviour and future majorities. We argue that Fidesz tinkers with the system in a way that will increase the likelihood of emerging victorious from a battle w...

Just in time to fuel another round of speculation about early elections, a new concept of Fidesz’ proposals for new electoral rules emerged, supplanting an earlier proposal, which is still languishing in committee.

The times call for an economically populist agenda, and Jobbik appears to be successfully adapting to this requirement. Drawing on a mix of its own xenophobic/anti-globalisation ideas, Fidesz’ previous opposition rhetoric, and traditional left-wing ideas, it is steadfastly attacking the government’s economic policies. At the same time, a careful pr...

What was only a quickly reversed idea a couple of weeks ago is now a reality: the flat tax will be suspended for at least a year. While the higher rate will be applied already at income levels that ideally should have been subject to the lower rate, this policy reversal is a move in the right direction. In Hungary, the flat tax has failed to delive...

On occasion, the government shows scant concern for legal certainty and the rule of law, thus encumbering long-term calculations of returns on investment with the looming possibility of arbitrary taxes or other explicitly or effectively punitive action.