Jobbik slams Orbán cabinet, central bank for ‘inaction’ over weak forint

Jobbik on Tuesday slammed the government and the central bank for “failing to act” over the recent weakening of the forint to historic lows, saying that a weak currency would “hurt the interests of all Hungarians” in the long run.

The National Bank of Hungary is “at least as much to blame for the not too positive state” of the Hungarian economy as the government, Jobbik deputy leader Dániel Z Kárpát told a news conference, arguing that the government was trying to shift responsibility for the economy to the NBH.

He said markets had priced in the weakening of the Hungarian currency given the lack of action by the government or the central bank.

“The brutal level of the Hungarian economy’s external vulnerability poses further risks,” Z Kárpát said.

He said government spokesman Zoltan Kovács’s recent suggestion that the weakening of the forint could be the result of speculation had given the impression of a “timid and weak” government that was incapable of intervening in the situation.