Jobbik: Claims of Hungary catching up with Austria ‘political sci-fi’

Conservative opposition Jobbik on Monday branded as “political sci-fi” predictions by the central bank governor and the prime minister that Hungary’s economy can catch up with that of Austria by 2030 or 2050.

The government should renegotiate strategic agreements, support levelling wages across the European Union and promote the development of domestic small and medium-sized companies in order for Hungary to overtake some western European countries in terms of economic strength, Dániel Z Kárpát, Jobbik’s deputy leader, told a press conference.

He said Hungary needed multinational companies that pay their fair share of taxes, adding, however, that it would be preferable if the government formed a strategic alliance with domestic SMEs.

Z Kárpát said that despite ongoing wage growth, Hungarian wages were still at the bottom of the rankings in the EU.

He criticised the government for having allowed multinational corporations to “have shifted more than 20,000 billion forints’ (EUR 63.2bn) worth of untaxed profits” out of the country since the beginning of the decade.

Source: MTI