MEP Gyöngyösi: With the return of state controlled prices, where is the way out for Hungary?

Just as the classic line says, the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money. As to what happens after that, Central Europe learned it the hard way in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Unfortunately, the next model wasn’t much more viable either: since they had little to no experience with democracy and the rule of law, and lacked the Western business standards and the knowledge to operate a market economy, Central European countries ended up with Wild East capitalism, which didn’t bring them closer to the coveted western living standards and didn’t really allow them to converge to the western economy, either.

However, each country responded differently to this problem in the 2000s and 2010s. Some Central European states “grew up”: realizing they can’t catch up with the West without a stable civil democracy and a national economy with a high added value, they made sure to strengthen these political and economic pillars.

Hungary, on the other hand, set out on a different path. After the chaos of the 1990s, many people voted for returning to the socialist ways instead of opting for a democratic, civic future. By now, Fidesz has created a bizarre mix of socialism and the rampant predatory capitalism of the 1990s. In today’s Hungary, the state abuses its power and interferes with the daily lives of its citizens, who are once again considered as mere subjects, just as they were before 1990. If you want to get ahead in society, you are required to toe the political line, just as you were in the socialist system. The media, arts and even education are all subjugated to political considerations again. Lacking major intellectual output, Fidesz-ruled Hungary relies on offering cheap semi-skilled labour.

Workers are kept in the dark: the state tries to prevent them from realizing how low their wages are by centrally controlling prices and handing out financial subsidies. Until the system runs out of money, of course.

Regardless if the Fidesz regime collapses one day or not, if you want to break this vicious cycle, you need to offer something fundamentally different. The Hungarian leftist and liberal forces don’t seem to have realized it to this day. If you compare their political agenda to Fidesz’, the only difference is that they replace the nationalist slogans with woke ideology, but otherwise they want the same kind of nanny state as Orbán.

Today, Jobbik – Conservatives is the only Hungarian party to say that if our problems were caused by the overbearing state, it is unreasonable to urge for even more central interference. We believe it’s high time to treat Hungarian people as adults who are perfectly capable of deciding what they need and acting on it, too.

We stand for a small but efficient state whose main role is to lay down the most important rules and guarantee the most important rights. It must carry out these tasks fully, and strike down mercilessly on those who violate these rules and abuse the system instead of using the opportunities it provides.

Beyond that however, the state has no other role. 

All you need is transparent and simple rules, the highest possible degree of individual freedom and full accountability for your actions. It’s time to really believe in the creativity and abilities of the Hungarian people!