Orbán: Budget geared towards handling war inflation, economic crisis

The government has drawn up the 2023 budget with a view to handling both war inflation and the economic crisis, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public radio in an interview on Friday.

The war is likely to be protracted, Orbán said, adding that 2023 would be full of “uncertainty and anxiety”, and the world would be “tormented by the war and its economic fallout”.

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He said that whereas Hungarians would not be dragged into the war, it would be impossible not to feel its consequences in the form of inflation and an economic crisis.

Orbán pledged to protect the value of pensions and ensure full employment, while he said the budget would protect the government’s family support system and caps on household utility bills. The prime minister said a decree containing the detailed rules regarding utility bills will be published in the next couple of days, and around 100,000 small businesses will still enjoy low-cost energy supplies thanks to the cap.