Government responsible for Hungarian forint’s historical low?

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) on Wednesday blamed the government’s “irresponsible policymaking” for the Hungarian currency’s “historical low”. The forint slipped to 399 against the euro on Monday morning before recovering somewhat. It has hovered around that rate over the past two days.

Zoltán Varga, the spokesman for DK’s parliamentary group, told an online press conference that if the opposition were elected on April 3, it would take measures to strengthen the forint before adopting the euro later on. Varga also noted that food, fuel and services prices had shot up over the past year.

Ruling Fidesz responded in a statement: “If it were up to the left wing, Hungary would face brutal inflation caused by the [Russia-Ukraine] war, because their prime ministerial candidate would push the country into the war, scrap the government’s household utility price caps and turn off the [Russian] gas tap.”

The Hungarian opposition wants energy sanctions and rejects central price caps, the statement said, adding that its

“confusing talk” and “irresponsible demands”

posed a threat to ordinary Hungarians, the country’s economy, and domestic price stability.

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Fidesz noted high inflation in Europe due to the pandemic’s economic effects, rising energy prices, the war in Ukraine and related sanctions, adding that Hungary is mid-field in the bloc in terms of inflation.

It noted

government measures to protect Hungarians against inflation,

including wage and pension increases and caps on energy bills, basic food and fuel prices, and interest on bank loans. These measures helped to curb inflation by 3-4 percentage points, Fidesz said.