Péter Magyar, the incoming prime minister, warned the outgoing Orbán government to limit budget spending to “normal operations” during their last week in power in a post on Facebook on Tuesday.
General government deficit to be much higher
“I have instructed the heads of ministries not to take on any new fiscal commitments until the Tisza government is formed,” Magyar said in the post. He added that government resolutions obtained by the incoming Tisza government showed the Orbán government aimed to spend “not only money that has not yet been paid on existing contracts, but assume even bigger fiscal commitments”, adding that spending controls had been “completely eliminated”, clearing the way for “money to be squandered”.
Even without any additional spending, the Orban government projects a general government deficit of 6.8pc of GDP for 2026, well over the 3.9pc target in the budget act and the modified 5pc projection, Magyar said.
He added that the Tisza government would restore “responsible fiscal management” and “put an end to theft and waste”. Magyar pledged an immediate review of the expenditures and contracts of “every ministry, every budget-funded institution and every state-owned company”. Magyar will be sworn in as Hungary’s next prime minister on Saturday.
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Here’s the reaction of Fidesz
By contrast, the minister leading the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás, stressed that the Orbán government had authorised solely the payment of decisions taken before the election and enshrined in the budget, expressly prohibiting the assumption of new commitments the day after polling day.
The outgoing minister has urged the leader and members of the new government, whom he believes will receive all necessary information from the incumbent ministers, to refrain from “burdening the constitutional process of the government transition with unfounded rumours” in order to ensure a proper handover.
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Featured image: Facebook/Orbán Viktor
