Jobbik accuses government of imposing ‘comprehensive austerity package’

Conservative opposition Jobbik on Wednesday accused the government of having imposed a “comprehensive austerity package” which it has attempted to sell to the public through propaganda.

Since 2010, “[Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán and his team” have been helped by external financing, European Union funds and remittances by Hungarians working abroad and they have only an average growth rate of 2.5 percent to show for it, Jobbik deputy leader Dániel Z Kárpát told a press conference.

At the same time, the government has been engaged in a “non-stop deceitful propaganda campaign” designed to portray its measures as being successful, whether they be about the CSOK home purchase subsidy scheme, demographics data or the country’s economic indicators, Z Kárpát insisted.

Though CSOK has helped 92,000 families over the past three and a half years, commercial banks generally only offer credit to families with monthly incomes of over 350,000-400,000 forints, he said.

He said it was impossible to rent apartments in Hungary’s major cities at “fair prices”, adding that people looking to renovate their properties were not receiving meaningful assistance from the government, either.

Z Kárpát said the government had only helped certain segments of society, while most young people had not been given sufficient help.

The politician also criticised Hungary’s “record-high” 27 percent VAT rate, which he said affects the majority of basic foodstuffs and almost all products needed for families with children.

Meanwhile, Z Kárpát said his party would not back down from fighting for the repeal of the recent amendment to the labour code, adding that Jobbik also wants to get the government to renegotiate its strategic agreements with multinational companies.

Featured image: MTI

Source: MTI