Socialists slam 2023 ‘budget of uncertainty’

The opposition Socialist Party has slammed the government’s 2023 budget passed by lawmakers on Tuesday, calling it “a budget of uncertainty and pillage”.

Bertalan Tóth, the party’s co-leader, told a press conference that the last three months had proved that ruling Fidesz “has deceived its voters”.

The Socialists had submitted multiple amendment proposals to the draft budget, he said, noting that his party has called for more funding for health care and higher wages for hospital workers and teachers. The Socialist parliamentary group had also pushed to exempt local councils from having to pay market utility prices and called for pension increases, he added.

Read also: LMP: Corporations ‘winners’ of 2023 budget

Since Fidesz had rejected these proposals, the Socialists did not support with their votes next year’s budget which Tóth said would threaten the livelihoods of millions.

Zoltán Vajda, the (Socialist) head of parliament’s budgetary committee, said the budget contained “dire austerity measures”, arguing that the taxes on excessive profits would be passed on to customers, the changes to the itemised tax for small businesses (kata) were actually a tax increase, and the caps on household utility bills “have basically been gutted”.

He said the 5.2 percent inflation rate, the 4 percent GDP growth rate and the euro exchange rate of 375-377 forints per euro envisaged in the budget were “already unrealistic”.