Jobbik accuses government of manipulating public debt figure

Budapest, February 12 (MTI) – The Jobbik party has accused the government of pulling a fast one in connection with the public debt level.

János Volner, the party’s deputy leader, told a news conference on Friday that the state debt manager (AKK) and the central bank (NBH) “jointly manipulate” the year-end figure. He insisted that at the end of the year taxpayer money is used to buy back previously sold government securities, then at the start of the new year these are resold “since Hungary’s financing cannot be sustained by any other means”.

He said money on the public accounts is dangerously reduced during the year-end period.

“Fidesz is putting Hungary in jeopardy,” he added.

Volner said that at the end of the first quarter in 2010, at the time of the change in government, the public debt stood at 80.2 percent of GDP, while five and half years later, at the end of the third quarter last year, it amounted to 78 percent. This two percent reduction was at the expense of the private pension savings of 3 million people, he said, referring to the government decision to nationalise the bulk of private pensions. Volner insisted that the money accrued through the measure should have pushed the public debt down to 70 percent of GDP.

The Jobbik politician said Fidesz had failed by its own measure: according to its flagship economic policy, the Szel Kalman plan, the public debt should have reach 63 percent of GDP by the end of last year.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters